


Hearts & Cards

by Karmariaku



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Drama, F/M, Love, Love Triangles, Romance, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 04:04:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 43,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12950913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karmariaku/pseuds/Karmariaku
Summary: WARNING: STRONG COARSE LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL CONTENT AND LOTS OF DRAMA.Seto Kaiba x OC with some Joey Wheeler x OC. My story, my rules. :)After losing her mum, Callie travels back to her birth country in an attempt to get away. What she doesn't anticipate is her feelings blossoming for two of the top duelists in the world.All characters and some plot belong to the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! I own my OCs and the remaining plot.





	1. Chapter 1

The crisp wind picked up from under me as I descended the metal steps that were attached to the plane. I had to try and hold my black and red pleated tartan skirt down while carrying my purple handbag by the strap in my mouth. I swore under my breath as I stepped onto the tarmac and bowed my head slightly as the wind viciously swept up my long blonde hair and sent it haywire. Someone behind me complained about people not keeping their hair in check, so I spun around and eyeballed the middle-aged brunette woman behind me. She looked a bit taken aback as I looked at her through my bangs, which were blowing all over the place. That woman couldn't talk; her shoulder blade length hair was blowing everywhere. Rolling my eyes, I turned on my heel and power walked towards the gate doors. I zipped past people as they slowly made their way towards the terminal. My handbag was swinging wildly, knocking into each shoulder as I moved.

An airport attendant opened the gate door as I approached. I think I had beat everyone. I thanked her as I entered the terminal and moved out of the way so more passengers could make their way in. Once I knew I was safe from the wind, I let go of my skirt and took hold of my handbag. I shivered slightly as I rubbed my arm. If I had known it was going to be that cold when I arrived, I would have carried a jacket with me. I whipped my hair around slightly in an attempt to make it fall down my back properly and made my way towards the baggage carousels to my left, which actually proved quite difficult. There were people everywhere, and a lot of them were giving me strange looks. Maybe the fact I had metal everywhere was throwing them off. And, the fact I looked completely out of place within the groups of people dressed up in suits, office wear and nice, big, warm coats probably added to their reasons.

My attire was far from theirs. I wore a black sleeveless top with a collar, a red tie, a black arm sleeve that has studs around the wrist and red lines on it on my left arm, a heart necklace wrapped around my right arm, a fingerless biker glove on my right hand, a studded belt on my upper right arm, a belt choker and a red and black tartan pleated skirt. Not to mention I had several ear piercings and a nose stud.

I tried my best to ignore the looks I was getting as I leaned against a large concrete pole near the carousel. I looked around the arrival gate anxiously. There were swarms of people desperately trying to make it to their next flights, or make it outside to get a taxi. It was so noisy. I knew Domino was a big city, and the airport was huge, but the amount of people there was ridiculous.

The sound of the conveyor belt on the carousel snapped me from my thoughts. I moved closer to the belt so I had easy access when my bag came along. I suddenly got boxed in as people from my flight gathered around me. They had the same thought I did, apparently.

 _Seriously, I'm right here,_  I thought stubbornly as I got knocked forward. I managed to keep my balance. If the person had apologised, I didn't hear them.

The bags began rolling out slowly and people barged their way through to get their baggage. Some people had more than two bags; they had trouble dragging them back through everyone. I was so glad I only had one fairly large suitcase. Everything else was back in Australia. The length of time I was going to spend in Japan was undetermined at that point, so I only packed what clothes I really needed. Once my giant suitcase came into view, I prepared myself for a quick escape. My bag had four wheels on the bottom, so I could easily use it to help me get out of the airport quickly, by means of pushing the thing in front of me. My bag rolled up to me and I heaved it off the carousel. It made a loud crack as it hit the tiles on the floor. The moment I attempted to move, the people directly around me began pushing their way towards the carousel, in turn moving me to the back of the mob. I thought about how rude those people were, disregarding the fact I had thought about using my suitcase as a battering ram.

Looking around in search for the exit, I reached into my bag and fumbled around for my phone. I pulled it out and turned it on, hoping the time on it would automatically update. I knew Japan was only a few hours behind Australia, but I needed the exact time. I was going to have to buy a new sim card and everything if I ended up staying longer than a few weeks, but, that could wait. I needed to get everything else sorted first. As my phone searched for its location, I continued looking around. I spotted an exit sign to the right of me, a few metres away. With my phone still in hand, I wheeled my suitcase beside me as I made my way to the glass doors. As I approached, I could feel the chilly air sweeping through the doors into the terminal as people herded out onto the street. I braced myself as I walked through the doors. I swore under my breath as soon as I was outside. I moved off to the side and watched as people jumped into warm taxis and limos. I envied them.

I looked down at my phone. It had found its location and updated the time. 2.15PM. I suddenly felt anxious. What if I didn't make it? I didn't even have time to change.

I was pulled from my thoughts as something warm was draped over my shoulders. "You're still an idiot."

I spun around and looked into bright green eyes. "Yeah, well, you should have reminded me to leave a jacket out."

Duke Devlin flicked his black bangs out of his face and smiled. He pulled me into his arms and gave me a huge squeeze.

I hadn't seen this man in four years. I had met him when my adoptive mother and I moved back to Japan from Australia when I was 13. Duke was always there for me. He looked out for me in school, and we always had a great time together. Due to certain events, mum shipped everything back to Australia. Even though I was back on the other side of the world, we kept talking until two years had passed. Things just got busy and I didn't get to talk to him as much. When I called Duke up a month before and asked if I could crash at his place for a bit, he was so excited. It had been so good to hear his voice.

I moved away from him and grinned. He had not changed much. Even when we were younger, he wore his thick black hair in a side ponytail. The only thing I could pick out that was different was the line of black eyeliner running down his cheek from his left eye, and his ear piercing. He had a single stud in his left ear with a single die attached to a long chain; it nearly sat on his shoulder. He still wore the same stupid red headband with black diamonds around it, and he had a chunk of his bangs poking out from underneath it in the middle of his face. He wore a black tank top with a loose, red vest and black pants. Not what I would call appropriate clothing for that kind of weather, but then again, I had always known him to be a weirdo.

I put my arms into the sleeves of the jacket Duke had hung over my shoulders and examined it. It was a long black trench coat with a few button details. "Where did you get this?" I asked while wrapping my arms around myself. I didn't bother doing it up.

"It's your present," Duke responded as he reached over and fixed up the collar. "It really suits you. I chose well."

"Thank you..." I murmured, looking down at my feet.

I felt Duke touch my arm gently. "It's okay, Cal. Now, it's nearly two-thirty, so-"

Something snapped inside my head. "Shit, shit, shit! I'm gunna be late! Duke, we need to go now!" I said in a panic as I looked up at him

"Why? What's the matter?" Duke questioned, alarmed as I grabbed the handle of my suitcase.

"I have a job interview at two-thirty," I said quickly as I wheeled my bag in front of me.

"Shit, Cal. Why didn't you say so?"

Duke took hold of my bag in one hand and grabbed my own hand with the other. He began power-walking, dragging me and my bag with him. I had a hard time keeping up with his gait. I had long legs, but they were still shorter than Duke's. He led me across the road and in between cars towards the packed carpark down the road. It must have been the only place he could find a spot; there was a carpark closer to the terminal. Duke slowed down as he neared a pale aqua 70's Cadillac convertible with the top down.

 _Is this his?_  I thought as Duke let go of my hand and the bag.

Duke opened the boot of the Cadillac, and, with a fair amount of difficulty, hoisted my bag into the back of the car. I walked around to the passenger side and tried to open the door. It was locked. Why on Earth would he lock the doors but leave the top down? In this weather? It was way too cold. While thinking about how much of a weirdo Duke was, I unlocked the car and got in. Once, Duke got in, he started the car up, reversed out and sped out onto the road.

"So, where is this interview?" Duke asked as I looked around the car while holding my hair down. It was blowing around everywhere. I guessed Duke liked a strong breeze. "And what possessed you to arrange to have it at two-thirty? You knew your plane wasn't supposed to get in until one-thirty. Did you think about the possibility of it being delayed? 'Cause look what happened."

"Yeah, yeah, there's no need to lecture me, Devlin," I snapped, using Duke's last name. "Besides, that was the time they gave me. I wasn't going to tell them I might not get there in time. I gotta seem reliable."

"Bang up job with that," Duke muttered.

I shot him a glare. "Do you know where Kaiba Corporation is?"

"Yeah?"

"Good, just drop me off out the front," I said distractedly as I spotted a bunch of hair bands around the gear stick. "I'm stealing one of these."

As I pulled one of the bands off, I could see Duke look at me in surprise. "Wait, it's not at Kaiba Corp., is it?"

"Yeah, why?" I asked slowly as I attempted to pull my hair into a pony tail.

"You wanna work for Kaiba?" Duke inquired, alternating between looking at the road and me.

"Why wouldn't I?" I responded, shrugging. "It's a job. What's wrong with working for him?"

"He's a jerk!" Duke shot at me.

"So what? I'll be fine. Besides, he's a nice piece of eye candy."

That last comment earned me a horrified look from Duke. I had never seen Duke look so scared. It was rather funny. I wondered if Duke and the owner and CEO of Kaiba Corporation, Seto Kaiba, actually knew each other, and that was why Duke didn't like him. Yeah, he did seem kind of arrogant on TV, but he was nice to look at.

"What job is it?"

"An assistant," I responded absent mindedly as I looked out the window.

Duke darted around the traffic, desperately trying to get me to my interview in time. I tried to look at scenery as we travelled along, but it was all a blur. Before I knew it, Duke was pulling up out the front of a fairly tall building. I got out and straightened myself out. Looking up, I could see two large blue letters, 'KC' sitting way up near the top of the building. The building itself was lined with windows, but on top, it looked like a UFO had landed on top of it. The top floor of the building looked like it was circular. I turned back around and looked at Duke, who was still sitting in the car.

"You really should have worn proper clothes on the plane," Duke commented as he eyed me.

I looked down at myself before pulling the trench coat in close and proceeded to do up the buttons. "Well, if I do it up, you can't see what's underneath."

"Uhuh. It looks like you're going to do a striptease for Kaiba," Duke said dryly, as I turned my back to him.

"Whatever works!" I called over my shoulder as I walked towards the glass doors.

Duke revved the engine as the doors opened, releasing a gush of warm air. I walked inside and willed the doors to close quickly behind me. It was so warm in there; much better than outside. The sudden warmth was very relaxing. I felt a lot calmer. As I stood near the door, I gazed around at my surroundings. The foyer was immaculate. The ceiling was at least ten feet high with a giant crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. Lush, blood red carpet covered for floor. There were numerous arm chairs around one of the large windows over the right side of the foyer, near a fairly large elevator. The low line reception desk itself was in the centre, under the chandelier.

I approached the front desk where a woman who looked to be in her late twenties was looking at her computer screen absentmindedly. She had lovely wavy brown hair with hazel eyes. She must have heard me approaching because she suddenly looked up and smiled.

"Hi, welcome to Kaiba Corp.," she greeted graciously. "How are you?"

"Incredibly warm right now," I replied matter-of-factly with a slight laugh. "The heating system in here is fantastic!"

The woman laughed. "Mister Kaiba spares no expense. So, how can I help you?"

I stared at her for a moment. "Oh! Um, I have an interview; I know I'm a bit late."

The woman turned her attention back to the computer. She typed a few things and I was amazed at how fast her fingers moved. She must have spent a lot of time at that computer. "Caledonia?" she confirmed, snapping me out of my fascination.

"That's me," I said, smiling.

"Mister Kaiba is expecting you. Just take the elevator over there to floor twelve," she said, pointing to the elevator. "Once you get there, just walk along the hallway until you come across double doors. Take a seat and he'll get you when he's ready. Good luck with your interview."

"Thank you," I smiled. I made me way over to the elevator, pushed the button and waited for a second before the doors opened. When I stepped over the threshold, I pushed the button. As the doors were closing, the realisation of where I was set in. I was in Kaiba Corporation. I was in the elevator, heading towards the top of the building. I was going to meet Seto Kaiba, and tell him why he should hire me. I hoped he wasn't as much of an asshole as he made himself out to be on TV.

The elevator made a loud 'DING' when it stopped. The doors opened and I was greeted with a long hallway that curved along the walls of the building. Actually, it didn't even look like there were walls on the left hand side. The glass that lined that side of the hallway was crystal clear. It was as if you could just step off the carpet and fall to your death. The other side, however, was very simplistic. The walls ever painted in a very light creamy colour with a pale blue border across the top.

Taking a breath, I stepped out of the elevator and made my way down the corridor. I only passed one door before I came across a set of double doors. I stood in front of them and took notice of the little gold name plate on the left one, 'Seto Kaiba'. Two chairs stood on the right side of the doors; I hadn't noticed them when I walked past. I took a seat on the one closest to the elevator. I ran my hands down my sides in an attempt to flatten them. Maybe I should have ducked into the toilets first. Looking down each end of the hallway, I quickly gathered I must have been the last applicant. What a way to show how reliable I was; rocking up ten minutes late. But, that wasn't entirely my fault; the plane had been delayed, but as Duke said; I should have taken that possibility into consideration.

The door opened without warning beside me, causing me to jump. My heart beat increased dramatically as I watched a long haired brunette woman walked out from behind the door. Her green eyes stood out against her pale skin. She only looked to be a few years older than me. I smiled as she walked past. The one she returned was only faint. I frowned slightly as I watched her walk down the hallways towards the elevator. I wondered what her problem was. Maybe the interview was tough. I gulped nervously.

"Miss Andersen?" a deep, rough voice said from beside me.

My head spun around, and my eyes fell on a tall man with neat, brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He was wearing a white sleeveless trench coat, with a black long sleeved turtle neck underneath and black pants with boots. Seto Kaiba. In the flesh.

I quickly stood up and smoothed my coat out. I willed myself to be as cool and calm as possible, but, he was kind of intimidating, and hot. I was ashamed that part of me was going into total meltdown just looking at him, the other part wanted to curl up into a ball and wait for Duke to come get me.

"M-Mister Kaiba," I greeted kindly, as I bowed. I may have bowed a little too far, as I nearly lost my balance. I hoped he didn't pick up on it.

"Follow me," Kaiba said emotionlessly as he walked back into the room.

Obeying the tall, handsome man's orders, I meekly walked into the room and gazed around in awe. The room was massive. The majority of the floor was bare except for a deep mahogany desk with a phone and open laptop on it. Behind it was a very comfortable looking high back office chair and in front of the desk was a lone bucket chair. Floor to ceiling windows lined the wall behind the desk. Bookcases stood along the walls to the left and right of me. A few feet in front of the bookcase to the right, was a plush royal blue three seater lounge. I had the urge to run up and belly flop on it.

 _Maybe if I get the job, he'll let me do it?_  I wished hopefully, although I knew it would never happen. I had to be professional, I kept telling myself.

I walked over to the chair in front of the desk and quickly took a seat. My eyes darted around in search for Mister Handsome Man. I had only just realised I hadn't seen him since I walked through the door. I pulled at the trench around my neck. It was beginning to get a bit too warm, but, I knew I couldn't take it off or unbutton it. The clothing underneath wasn't suitable for an interview. The door shut behind me and I tensed up.

"You're from Australia?" the rough voice spoke from somewhere behind me.

"Yes, Sir," I responded timidly as I relaxed a little. "Well, actually, I'm from Osaka, but I've been living between Japan and Australia all my life. I only just arrived in Domino before coming here actually."

"Really?" The voice sounded closer. I heard soft footsteps behind me and saw Kaiba appear out of the corner of my eye as he made his way to the other side of the desk. He took a seat in his chair and opened a manila folder I had not noticed him holding. "Is that why you're ten minutes late?" Kaiba looked up from the folder. His sapphire eyes bore into my own dark brown ones. My nerves were leaving me, but I stared back at him.

"Yeah, my flight was delayed, and then my friend just couldn't get me here quick enough. But, I'm sure you don't need to hear about that, Mister Kaiba," I said nervously as I fiddled with the hem of my coat. I needed to stop looking at him. My mind was becoming that of a school girl, swooning over the hot guy. I felt so pathetic.

_He is nice to look at though..._

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Kaiba stated dryly. "You shouldn't need a VISA to work in Japan then?"

"I'm not sure to be perfectly honest with you. Mum always dealt with that kinda stuff. So, I just applied for a Working Holiday VISA," I responded, but, I immediately regretted it. I didn't want him to not hire me based on my undetermined length of stay, assuming he knew what that VISA entailed. I really needed to sort out if I was a citizen of Japan.

Kaiba eyed me for a moment, almost as if he was pondering that very issue. "Why do you want to work here?"

"Well," I gulped. I guess he was still considering me, but, I still needed to bullshit my way in. That was what everyone did, right? "Uh, I believe I would be a good asset? I'm a quiet worker, I'm very time efficient-" Wow. Now even he knew that was a lie.

The look I got from the man in front of me, confirmed it. He raised his eyebrows. "And coming to this interview late is supposed to demonstrate that?"

I opened my mouth to respond but Kaiba cut me off.

"On your application, you've put down your Australian address. When you confirmed that you would be here for this interview, you didn't provide a Domino address..." he trailed off, waiting for me to answer.

"Um..." I paused. I thought about the conversation with Duke in the car. He had called Kaiba a jerk. If they did know each other, and if I told Kaiba I was staying with Duke, would he not give me the job? But, what else could I say? I didn't know any street names. "I'm staying at The Black Clown Game Shop. I'm not sure on the address."

I must have perked his interest; he tented his fingers in front of his chin and lent forward on his elbows. "I wasn't aware they offered accommodation."

"Well, my friend owns it-"

"Your friend? Duke Devlin is your friend?" Kaiba asked, narrowing his eyes.

 _Yeah, I'm not getting the job_.

"Is that a problem? I hope to get my own place soon," I tried to explain but I knew I was fighting a losing battle. I wondered why Duke and Kaiba hated each other. I had to get the story out of Duke.

I waited for Kaiba to reply, but he just stared at me like he was in deep thought. I wondered what he was thinking about. It was really intimidating so I quickly looked down at my lap. I let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding and tensed up again. He still hadn't said anything. Maybe he was trying to intimidate me. Sweat was beginning to build up on my arms and around my neck. I needed to take that trench coat off. Taking a deep breath, I lifted my head, letting my dark eyes meet with Kaiba's azure ones. I wasn't going to show I was nervous.

"Is that a problem?" I repeated, forcing a strong voice.

"Maybe," he responded swiftly. "How do you know Devlin? Do you know any of his friends?"

I looked at him with raised eyebrows; my nerves coming back from their breakdown. What was up with that? Wasn't he supposed to be asking me questions relating to being an assistant? "Why is that relevant? I gather you don't like Duke, but it isn't the time to be talking about it, is it?" I suddenly felt a lot braver than I actually was.

Then, Kaiba did something I didn't expect. He smirked at me. "You may be right, Miss Andersen. However, I like to know as much information as possible about potential employees before considering them for a position. My company has a reputation to uphold."

"And questioning me about my friends is a way to protect your image?" I snapped. I had no idea what came over me. Even though the smirk he shot at me had made me want to melt in my seat, the thought that he was judging me based on my friendships was really irritating, not to mention unethical. "My personal life should have no impact on my suitability for a position. You know what?" I stood up, causing Kaiba to look at me in shock. He went to speak, but I cut him off. "I don't think I want to work for you." I bowed before straightening up. "Sorry for wasting your time, Mister Kaiba."

As I walked around the lone chair I had been sitting in, I unbuttoned my coat and let it hang open, allowing my skin to breathe. I knew I'd have to button it back up before I walked out, but it felt nice. I looked around and took in my surroundings one last time. It would have been nice to work there. Regardless of the boss, the entire building, or, what I had seen of it, was quite lovely. I reached the door and pulled it open. I walked out, turned back and gave Kaiba one last bow.

"I hope you find a suitable assistant."

I caught a glimpse of Kaiba's blank face before I closed the door. I sighed loudly and slowly walked down the long corridor towards the elevator. So, I wasn't getting the job. Truth be told, I had been rather excited about getting a job at one of the largest gaming technology companies in the world. Maybe I would have more luck if I put down Duke's actual address on future applications. But, then, who else did Duke have problems with?

The elevator doors opened shortly after I pushed the button. It would have been nice to work there and perv on Kaiba whenever I wanted to. Jeez, why was I thinking like that? Yeah, he was nice to look at, but he was not swoon worthy. Well, that was what I had to keep telling myself while trying to forget about my thoughts during the interview.

Once I finally reached the foyer, I made a beeline for the entrance. I braced myself for the impending gust of freezing wind. The door opened, but the breeze I was greeted with, wasn't that bad. It was still chilly, but nowhere near as bad as it had been when I got off the plane. Maybe I just needed to adjust to it. I stood out the front of the building, only just realising I hadn't asked Duke to wait, or at least tell me where to go.

A car horn sounded just up the road to the right of me. Looking in that direction, I spotted Duke sitting in his car, waving his arm around like a madman. I jogged up to the car and jumped it.

"How'd you go?" Duke asked as I strapped myself in. "Did you give Kaiba that stripease?"

I whacked Duke on the arm rather hard. "You're a pervert. And, no, I told him I didn't want to work for him. He was questioning me about you."

"What? Why?" Duke asked defensively.

"I don't wanna talk about it, Duke. Can we just go?"

The drive to Duke's place was quiet. I was actually able to take note of the surroundings. I was hoping I would have been able to piece them together for future reference, if I ever got lost. As we rounded a corner, I spotted a rather large building with what looked like a massive clown jutting from the front of it. It looked quite scary, so I could only imagine what it looked like at night. I hoped I never had to stand outside at night alone with that thing looming over me.

Duke drove around the back of the building. There was a garage built into the side of it. We drove in before Duke shut the engine off. We jumped out and Duke grabbed my bag from the boot while I closed the garage door. Lights flicked on above us as soon at the roller door hit the ground. Sensor lights? That was handy.

I followed Duke closely as he lugged my bag towards a set of stairs built in to the wall. "Watch your step, Cal," he warned, before he began heaving my bag up the stairs.

"Do you want help?"

"No."

I sighed and carefully followed him up. There were walls on either side, so it made ascending the stairs a bit easier. A loud thump slightly above me indicated Duke had reached the top. I quickened my pace, which was a bad idea. The tip of my shoe got caught on a step and I squealed slightly as I fell. I put my hands out to cushion the blow, but I just ended up stretching too far up, resulting in me bending my fingers upwards as they hit the wall of a step. My chin collided with the top of a step and I bit my tongue rather hard. I let out a cry.

"Callie, you okay?" Duke asked from above me as light flooded the stairwell. I then heard him laughing.

I hoisted myself up shakily and glared up at Duke. My fingers had hit the very top step. I could taste blood in my mouth. My tongue and fingers were throbbing. I stepped up the last few steps and gazed around the top. I was standing in a small area with a coat rack and a small pile of shoes in the corner with two sets of slippers sitting neatly beside it. I kicked off my shoes and slipped my feet into one of the pairs of slippers. Stepping up and out of the mini entrance way, I looked around. It was an open living area, with the lounge area on the right which consisted of a two seater lounge, recliner and large flat screen TV. The dining area to the left had a rectangle six seater timber table and the kitchen was in the top left corner with a small island in the centre. The décor was very simplistic. I hadn't expected much; as far as I knew, it was only Duke living there.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Duke asked as he put his hand on my shoulder.

"I thung," I said, while keeping my tongue out of my mouth. Even attempting to say 'my tongue' hurt like a bitch.

Duke tried to hide his smile, and I glared at him again. "I'll get you a drink." He hurried over to the kitchen and went about getting me a drink.

I examined my fingers, they were shaking and red. My first couple of hours in Japan had been great; sarcasm intended. I rubbed my chin with the back of my hand. It hurt slightly. I expected there to be a bruise the next morning.

"By the way, Cal, you're coming with me to school tomorrow," Duke informed me as he walked towards me, glass in hand. I took it from him carefully. I didn't wanna drop it. The cup was really cold; it was nice on my fingers. I tilted the cup up and stuck my tongue into the cold water. A shiver ran down my spine as the pain in my tongue slowly subsided. It felt so much better. I took a mouthful before focusing on Duke.

"Why?" I inquired, being careful not to put too much pressure on my tongue.

"Kaden told me about what your intentions are. The sooner you figure it out, the better."

I walked over to the bench and placed the cup down. Kaden had told Duke I was thinking about moving back to Japan? I just wanted a break before I got into that stuff. Kaden was going to get an earful the next morning. "You know I can't enrol right away, don't you? I've only got a Working Holiday VISA."

"There's ways around that, that's why you're coming with me tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

_This would have been more appropriate for my interview yesterday,_  I thought glumly as I stood in front of the mirror in Duke's spare room. The double bed was directly behind me, with a pale blue comforter and matching pillows. A pair of black sockettes were sitting on the end.

I examined the reflection of my black slacks that flared slightly into a boot cut, looking for any white fluff balls. When I was happy with them, I focused on my white blouse which was slightly covered by the unbuttoned trench coat Duke had given me. The coat suited my outfit. It looked cool. Not to mention the fact it was quite comfortable. I fixed up my collars before flicking my hair away from my neck. I left it down, but made sure the band I had nicked off Duke was around my wrist, just in case.

"Hey, Cal?" Duke's voice spoke from the doorway to my right. I glanced at him before backing up slightly to sit on the end of my bed. "How long are you staying?"

"In all honesty," I started as I started pulling on my sockettes. "I was only gunna stay for a few weeks. Maybe a month or two. See if I could stand living here..."

Duke frowned. "You know you can talk about it?"

I shook my head as I stood up. "But I don't want to." I walked over to Duke and slipped on the slippers I had the night before, which were next to the doorway. "We better get moving. I've gotta grab my handbag out of your car and I don't want you to be late."

The walk was quiet. Duke kept looking at me out the corner of his eye. He must have been worried; I had kept my head down pretty much as soon as we walked out the door. Dark rain clouds were slowly drifting over Domino. We were in for a storm. It matched how my head and my heart felt. I would talk about my problems when I was ready to. I knew Duke respected me enough to not pressure me.

"That's the school, Callie," Duke piped up, drawing me out of my thoughts.

I looked towards the end of the road and saw a large building with a tall brick fence around it. The front of the building had a big clock face on it.

"Well, I know where to look if I ever want the time," I joked as we neared the entrance.

The main courtyard was cemented with a couple of sheltered picnic tables around the edges. Numerous school kids were scattered around the yard. Some were holding unopened umbrellas. They must have been waiting for it to rain. Wish I had thought of that.

"Do you walk here every day?" I asked Duke as we stopped about half way to the main doors of the school.

"Yeah, it's a pain, but, it has to be done. At least I'll have you to walk with," Duke smiled as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Oh, that reminds me..." I muttered as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and searched for the number I was after. I was going to give Kaden a piece of my mind, even if it was the crack of dawn in Australia. I didn't want Duke to know what was going on until I knew for sure, I didn't want to get his hopes up. But, Kaden had ruined that.

"Hang on!" Duke said, placing his hand over my phone. "I want you to meet some people." I sighed and tucked my phone back into my pocket. Duke kept his arm across my shoulders as we continued towards the building.

You know when you can feel someone looking at you? I had that feeling, but intensified. I looked around and saw numerous girls staring daggers at me. What was their problem? As we approached the main entrance, more and more girls began to look our way. Did they all have a crush on Duke?

"Uhh, Duke? I think I'm being murdered mentally by all these girls," I said quietly as I nervously glanced around.

Duke's arm tightened around my shoulders as we walked into the building. "Don't stress, Cal. They won't hurt you," he laughed. "I don't think," he added seriously.

"Gee, thanks, mate," I responded sarcastically as I looked around. There were rows of small lockers across the room. A few people were standing a few feet in front of us, taking their shoes off and placing them in the lockers. To the back of the lockers were arches for a long hallway on the left and right. I looked at Duke. "Now where are these people you wanted me to meet? They won't wanna kill me too, will they?"

"Nah, they're cool. I'm sure they'll love you. Anyway, I'm sure Téa would love to have another girl to talk to," Duke said we approached the group of teens near the lockers. "Hey, guys."

The group turned to look at us. There was a short guy in front with black and purple spikey hair with blonde bangs. He had a strange upside down pyramid hanging from a thick chain around his neck. The pyramid looked like it was pure gold with the eye of Horus on the front of it. I knew him immediately. Yugi Moto.

To his right was a girl who looked to be around the same height as me with brunette hair that sat on her shoulders. She has wide, bright blue eyes which matched the bow on her school uniform, as well as the skirt. The top was pale pink and she wore thigh high socks.

Standing behind her and Yugi, were two rather tall guys, wearing the same uniform as Yugi. One had shaggy blonde hair and warm chocolate eyes and the other had short dark brown hair and dark eyes.

"Who's your friend, Duke?" the brown haired guy asked curiously.

"This is Callie," Duke introduced fondly as his grip on my shoulder tightened slightly. "Cal, these are my friends, Yugi, Téa, Joey, and Tristan." He had pointed to each one of them as he said their names. I waved at them slightly while blushing. "Callie might be enrolling here today," Duke explained.

"Oh, that will be so cool!" Téa squealed suddenly. "It'll be great having a girl to talk to!"

I laughed. "Duke said it would make you happy."

"We'll have to continue this later, guys. We have an appointment with Mister Saito," Duke sighed as he nodded down the hall. "We need to sort out some things."

Saito? Where have I heard that name? I pondered as I bid Duke's friends farewell before I was ushered towards the back of the lockers and down the left corridor. Duke's body was radiating tension. Maybe he knew there was no way I was getting another VISA. I didn't understand why he just wouldn't let me chill for a few days; I still had the interview with Kaiba running through my head. Maybe I should have just answered his questions about Duke and his friends; I then dawned on me why he was intent on knowing if I knew them. Yugi Moto: King of Games. Did Kaiba really hold that much of a grudge because Yugi had beaten him in Duel Monsters?

Duke stopped beside a door half way down the hall and knocked. There was a frosted glass window in the door with 'HIDEO SAITO' across it. As Duke opened the door, I gazed down the hallway, towards the lockers, and my heart jumped into my throat. Even from a distance, there was no mistaking Seto Kaiba. His gait oozed superiority. He knew he was powerful. But, why was he at the school? I didn't think he still attended, considering he had a company to run. He was wearing the school uniform, so he must be attending. I didn't have time to dwell on those thoughts as Duke tugged on my hand, leading me into the office.

I looked around the office and gazed at the man sitting behind the desk. He was an older man with hard features and a slightly receding hairline. His mouth was pressed into a hard line and it looked like he had a scowling look on his face, but his eyes were a pale blue that didn't hold the same attitude as his face. They looked happy.

Duke closed the door behind me and immediately, the man's face softened slightly. "Callie, it's been a few years."

"Mister Saito," I smiled as I bowed slightly.

"Wait, you know each other?" Duke piped up beside me, clearly shocked.

I straightened up and nodded before sitting in one of the two chairs that were placed in front of Mister Saito's desk. "Mister Saito was my next door neighbour before we moved over to Australia. I'm surprised you don't remember, Duke."

"Oh," Duke said quietly as he sat beside me.

"So, you've moved back?" Mister Saito asked as he reached into his desk and pulled out some papers.

"Well, not yet. I'm thinking about it. Just weighing up my options," I said, laughing slightly. "I'm not even sure I can enrol here in Japan. I don't know how it was done when I enrolled in Junior High."

"Are you on a VISA now? If it's a study VISA, we won't have a problem."

"I've got a Working Holiday VISA, and I've heard they're hard to change over. And, in all honesty, I don't know if I should even have it. I know I have permanent residency in Australia, but I don't know how coming back to Japan to study would work," I sighed heavily.

Mister Saito nodded in agreement before looking down at his desk in deep thought. Beside me, Duke was shifting uncomfortably. I guessed he was worried about the whole situation. Maybe I should have just stuck with trying to find a job. Why did living between two countries have to be so difficult?

"It might be best for you to go find out where you stand with citizenship and everything," Mister Saito said as straightened up the papers he had pulled out of his desk. "When you find out all those details, fill out this, bring it back and we can go from there." He handed me the papers and smiled. I nodded and sat them in my lap. "So, how's Amelia, Callie?"

My heart jumped. I swallowed before stating quietly, "she passed away a few months ago, Mister Saito. Some drunken idiot hit us..." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

Mister Saito's expression turned to one of shock. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. She was still so young. And you, you're only young yourself."

I didn't want to talk about her. I excused myself as I stood up. I didn't look at the principle or Duke as I bowed and made my way to the door. I pushed the door open and it collided with someone. Apologising without really looking to see who I hit, I briskly walked back towards the lockers. Tears slowly rolled down my cheeks. I wasn't ready. It was still too soon. Behind me, I vaguely heard Duke call out to me and his shoes hit the sleek floor. No sooner I reached the front door to the school, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Cal-" Duke started as he turned me around.

"Don't, Duke. I can't," I said quietly as I hung my head. I didn't dare show him I was crying.

Duke placed his fingers under my chin and tried to tilt my head up, but I pushed down. "You need to talk about it at some point. You can't keep running-"

"She's gone, Duke," I stated flatly as I looked him in the eye. "There is nothing I can say or do that will change the fact I have no family left. Nothing will bring her back. She was all I had... She may not have been my birth mother, but she raised me better than that woman ever could. I can't talk about her like it doesn't affect me. She'd still be here if I hadn't said I wanted to go to Kaden's. That's on me. I can't just get over it."

"You know you still have me. And Kaden. And your friends back home," Duke said quietly as he pulled me into a tight hug. "I'll let you talk about it when you're ready, Cal. I'm sorry. Do you want me to take you home? This is my free period."

I moved away from Duke and looked through the glass on the entrance doors. It had grown dark outside due to cloud coverage. The footpath showed signs of rain drops here and there. I really didn't want Duke to be caught in the rain if it ended up pissing down before he got back from taking me to the shop.

"Nah, I'll chill around here. Have a bit of a snoop, see whether I'd like being here," I sighed as I slipped the papers Mister Saito had given me into my handbag.

"Well, I think Joey's got a free period at the moment as well. He's probably in the cafeteria."

The blonde guy Duke had introduced me to earlier, was sitting by himself in the corner of the cafeteria, at the end of a table. The cafeteria was fairly large with ten long tables set out in rows. The chair were set on the tables and the serving window was on the far side of the room. I suddenly felt uneasy. Did everyone eat in there during breaks? I didn't think I could eat in there with everyone else. Way too busy.

"I don't know why they have so many chairs," Duke spoke as he stepped in, as if reading my mind. "Hardly anyone eats in there. We don't even come in here during breaks."

Duke led me over to where blondie was sitting and pulled two chairs down. I sat on the corner, and Duke sat across from me.

"Hey, Joey," Duke greeted as he leant back in his chair. "This your free too?"

"Yeah, wish it was the whole mornin' though, I have maths next," Joey complained in an accent I couldn't quite put my finger on. It sounded American, but there was more to it. It was hard to explain.

"Maths sucks," I commented in disgust as I pulled my hair into a pony tail. "If I didn't have to do it, I wouldn't."

Joey studied me for a moment before asking, "What subjects do you study at your school?"

"Well," I started, "There's English, Maths, Ancient History, Computer Studies, and Biology." Both Joey and Duke stared at me. I frowned at them in confusion. "What?"

"You only study five subjects? Where the hell are you goin' to school?" Joey asked me in pure shock.

"A public school in Australia?" I said meekly. "I have no intention of going to Uni so I was allowed to drop a class. Why? How many do you study?"

"Nine, plus Homeroom and Club stuff," Duke answered. "I really need to go to Australia..."

"Why would you wanna move from Australia, to go to school here? Sounds like you've got it pretty sweet over there," Joey questioned.

"I need a change," I shrugged. "Nothing's set in stone yet. I might still go back."

We spent the next 20 minutes talking about each other and making jokes. Joey and Duke explained how Japanese High Schools worked so I had a rough idea of what I would be getting myself in to. So many subjects. How was I supposed to study for all them?

Duke sighed as he stood up, startling me. "Time for class."

"When's your break?" I asked as Joey stood up beside me.

"In about an hour," Joey responded. "We have our first break in Homeroom."

"I'll come and find you when class is finished," Duke said as he walked around the end of the table. He ruffled my hair before walking towards the doors of the cafeteria.

Joey followed him, but not before giving me a quick smile. "It was nice talkin' to ya," he said quietly.

I nodded and watched them walk away. What was I supposed to do now? I had an hour to kill. Maybe exploring the school was a good idea. If I ended up enrolling, it would be good to know where I was headed. I leant back in my chair and looked up at the ceiling. There was a fluorescent light fixed above me. The light hurt my eyes so I quickly looked out the window across from me. It was still raining. I wanted to go find a dry spot and sit out there.

"That would have been a more appropriate attire for your interview," a rough voice spoke from behind me.

I jumped in my seat and turned around to see who had spoken to me. I breathed in sharply as I watched Kaiba turn his back to me.

"If you want the job, I suggest you follow me," he announced coldly.

Did I want the job? Did I want to work for someone who apparently had a strong dislike for my friend? Would I be able to handle study and work? I didn't know Domino High's rules in regards to part time work. I didn't know if I could even land another job if the opportunity came up. So, if Kaiba was offering me a job, it was wise for me to take him up on it.

My chair scraped as I hurriedly pushed myself back and scampered after Kaiba. Why couldn't he talk to me in the cafeteria? Maybe he was taking me to an empty office so he could talk to me privately. I still couldn't figure out why he wanted to give me the job after I walked out on the interview yesterday.

As I followed Kaiba past the shoe lockers, I took in his appearance from the back. He was in his school uniform, but it was a lot neater than the gang's uniforms. He was carrying a silver briefcase in his right hand. It stayed rather still as he walked. He was so business-like.

Kaiba lead me down the hallway towards Mister Saito's office. We stopped just shire of it, where he opened an office door and stood back.

"In," he stated.

I ducked in to find a round table with three bucket chairs around it. It must have been a small meeting room or something. I took a seat on the right side of the room as I heard the door close. Kaiba stepped over to the table and sat across from me. He placed his briefcase on the table and opened it. He pulled out some papers before closing it and pushing it aside.

"I overheard your conversation with Saito earlier," Kaiba commented without looking at me, as he sorted through his papers. "You're quite strong."

I'm quite strong? What was he talking about? Oh. He was the person who had been standing near the door when I swung it open. Oops. I hung my head and looked at my lap.

"I'm sorry about that," I murmured.

"I'm not worried about that, Miss Andersen. Now, I heard you say you didn't know if you were a Japanese citizen," Kaiba trailed off as he pushed a piece of paper in front of me. I scanned it quickly, and then looked up at him in shock.

"My birth certificate?"

"You're of Japanese birth, as you know, so you are a citizen by birth. Turns out you're an Australian citizen as well. Your adoptive mother had you undergo citizenship when you were younger. You have until you're twenty two to decide which nationality you want to be," Kaiba explained before pushing another document towards me. "So, you don't need to worry about gathering that information."

Ignoring the paper, I gave Kaiba a curious look. "How do you have all this information? Kinda stalkerish, isn't it?"

Kaiba looked shocked for a second, but quickly covered it with a smirk. "I told you when you came in for your interview that I like to know as much about potential employees as possible."

"Oh, yes, I remember. That was when you questioned me about my friend," I retorted, shooting him a sweet smile.

"I still might, Miss Andersen. There are some things I'd like you to sign, but, I'd like to know if you intend on enrolling here? If so, I want a copy of your timetable so I have an idea of the hours you can work. I will allow you sufficient time to study."

I stared at him, dumbfounded. Was he for real? For an employer, he seemed very nosy. I guessed it was a good thing though, he didn't want to work me so much that I couldn't study. But, I didn't even know if I wanted to go to school there. I wanted to talk to someone about my options properly. I couldn't give up this job just yet though.

"I haven't decided if I'm going to study, but I'll let you know as soon as I do," I informed Kaiba, as I grabbed the second document he had shown me. I held it in front of me. It was a list of duties I was to undertake while working at Kaiba Corp. General secretarial duties seemed to be the main theme. "I have a question, Mister Kaiba."

"Yes?"

"Will someone else be taking over my duties while I'm at school if I decide to study?"

"No," Kaiba responded, flatly. "You will be the sole Personal Assistant."

I sat there for a moment, before looking at my birth certificate. I had never seen it before. I glanced at the name towards the top of the paper. Caledonia Akiyama. I frowned. I didn't know if I had wanted to know my real name. What was I supposed to do with that information? I knew from that moment on, I was going to freak out whenever I saw the name 'Akiyama', thinking that they were a relative. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Pushing the piece of paper away, I sighed. I didn't want to see any more.

"I take it from your reaction that you didn't know your true name," Kaiba commented with no emotion.

"Tell me how you got this," I murmured, ignoring his observation. I didn't look up at him. I just looked at my hands on the table.

"I researched you, then your adoptive mother. I found which orphanage she adopted you from, and traced your birth name," Kaiba explained with the same indifference.

I wondered if Kaiba knew about why I had been placed in the orphanage in the first place. My birth parents had abandoned me when I was only two days old. They had dumped me behind an old dilapidated shack on the outskirts of Osaka. Once I was found a day later, and all the blood tests and such were completed, I was taken to an orphanage in the centre of the city while authorities tracked down my parents. It didn't take long before they were caught and on trial. My adoptive mother began the adoption process two days after I arrived. Turned out she couldn't have any kids of her own, so, once some strings were pulled, thanks to the people she knew within the adoption agency, I was legally her daughter. That was the story she told me anyway.

"Well, aren't you lucky I know I'm adopted," I stated dryly, finally looking him in the eye. "What if I hadn't had known?" I was trying my best to ignore Kaiba whenever he brought up my mum, but it was hard.

"I saw you with Devlin when you ran out of Saito's office. You mentioned your birth mother so I took it as confirmation that you knew."

At least he was honest, I supposed. I pushed the certificates towards Kaiba and folded my arms. Why was he so hung up on researching absolutely everything about me? Yeah, he wanted a background check on his employees, but there was a line, and I think he crossed it.

"You said there were papers for me to sign?" I questioned irritably.

Kaiba smirked and pushed the pile of remaining paperwork towards me. "That outlines Kaiba Corp's Code of Conduct, pay rates, awards and penalties, and probationary periods. Initial the bottom of each page to show you've read and consented to everything, then sign and date the last page."

I think Kaiba noticed I didn't have a pen because he reached into his trench and pulled out a blue one. He rolled it over to me. As I flicked through the pages, I couldn't shake the unnerving feeling of Kaiba looking at me. There was an uncomfortable silence between us. I needed to break it.

"So, what's the work attire?"

"Similar to what you're wearing now. Smart and professional."

Once I went through the paper work and did what I needed to do, I pushed everything towards Kaiba, except my citizenship certificate, which I put in my handbag. He flicked through the pile to make sure everything was okay. He stopped on my birth certificate.

"You don't want this?" he asked as he pulled it out of the pile.

I shook my head. "I don't think I wanted to know my name. And, I definitely don't want to know my birth parents names."

"They're not on here," Kaiba commented as his looked at it. "I didn't question why that is, because I only need proof that you're real."

As Kaiba packed the paper into his briefcase, I stood up and bowed. "Thank you for giving me the job."

Kaiba stood up as well and walked around to my side of the table. He held out his hand for me to shake. I looked at it for a moment while taking in the scent of his cologne. It filled my nostrils; it had a rustic tone to it. It was a scent I knew I wouldn't forget. Taking his hand in mine, I nearly jumped as I felt what seemed like a jolt of electricity travel up my arm and throughout the rest of my body. I dropped his hand and bowed.

"Welcome to Kaiba Corp. Now, I have to go."

He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving me to stand there with my thoughts. That feeling I had when he touched me; what was that about? His skin was so smooth. I didn't expect him to shake my hand, or go through with giving me the job. He had all those documents ready. Did that mean he went to the school to track me down to offer me the job? But what had made him want to give me it in the first place? And, how did he know I was at the school? I had to find out.

I opened the door and ran into the hallway, which was starting to fill up with students. Looking down each side of the corridor, I took off down towards the main entrance, darting around people as I went. I hoped Kaiba hadn't already left.

I stopped near the shoe lockers, and watched Kaiba grab his umbrella from the stand near the door.

"Mister Kaiba," I called as I walked towards him.

He looked towards me in shock before a cold look graced his face again. "Yes, Miss Andersen?"

"How did you know I was here?" I asked as I stopped in front of him.

"I had come here to ask Devlin where you would be so I could offer you the position," Kaiba stated simply. His stance hadn't changed since I called out to him. It was like he had a wall between us.

"That's another thing. I walked out on the interview yesterday. Why do you want me to have it?"

Kaiba's azure eyes softened slightly, which startled me. He looked out towards the school yard, glistened as rain pelted the cement. "I know what it's like to lose your parents, to be left with nothing. I was lucky though, I still had my little brother."

And, with that, he opened his umbrella and walked outside.


	3. Chapter 3

Official first day of my new school. I was a bit nervous. I placed my book bag on the ground so I could fix the blue bow on the front of my pink school blouse while I stood outside my home room. Mister Saito was very helpful; he gave me the bag, uniform and a couple of books to get me by until I was settled in and had my own. He gave me a quick tour of the school so I had a rough idea of where I was going. By the time I had finished all that, it was halfway through the school day.

I could hear the teacher trying to get everyone to settle down so she could introduce me. I zoned out and though about the events of the day before, after Kaiba had offered me the job.

~Flashback~

"I think I might stick around for a bit," I announced loudly as I walked up behind Duke, who was seated at the table from before, Joey was next to him with Tristan in the next seat while Yugi and Téa were across from them. None of them had noticed me approach them.

Duke turned his body and looked at me with a smile. "I gathered. I thought I could hear your voice coming from Saito's office. How did you get everything you need so quick?" he asked as I plopped down in to the chair at the top of the table, bewteen Duke and Tea.

"My boss gave me everything," I commented casually, remembering my meeting with Kaiba. I then realised I shouldn't have said anything. Duke would ask questions, as would the others. I wondered what they would think.

"Your boss?" Tristan asked from beside me. "Who's your boss? You only arrived yesterday didn't you?"

"I was given a job this morning. It was unexpected, but, it was what I wanted."

Duke suddenly pulled on my sleeve, yanking me towards him. "You've only been to one interview," he whispered urgently. "And you said you walked out." He put it together. And, from the look on his face, he wasn't happy. He let go of my sleeve and flicked his hair. "So what happened? I thought you didn't wanna work for Kaiba."

"Kaiba?" Yugi questioned. "You're working for him?"

I nodded. "I had an interview with him yesterday. He was questioning me about Duke, and you guys," I explained. "I told him I didn't wanna work for him and walked out. I don't think he expected it to be quite honest."

"So, how did you get the job?" Téa asked.

I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes. I didn't want to tell them what Kaiba had said to me; they'd probably question what I had lost. That was something I wasn't ready for. I barely knew them. But, what could I say? Unless Duke had already said something to them.

"I must have impressed him by walking out? I dunno," I joked. "He didn't tell me. Just got me to sign the papers and that was it."

They were still staring at me in shock. I don't think they really knew what to say.

"How did he have your citizenship details? I take it you found out if you're a citizen?" Duke questioned.

I shrugged. "Turns out I am a Japanese citizen. And, Kaiba likes to know everything about his employees," I offered. "And, he's super rich so he can do whatever the hell he likes, I suppose."

"Hang on," Joey said suddenly. "Start from the beginning for me; how did you go from not wanting to work for him, to signing a contract?"

"Just after you and Duke left for your class, Kaiba rocked up and said if I wanted the job I was to follow him. And, I figured, that was part of what I wanted; to have a proper job during my time here, so I followed him. He took me to this little meeting room down the hallway and said he overheard my conversation with Mister Saito earlier, that's when he gave me my citizenship certificate, and my birth certificate. After that I signed the contract."

"Your birth certificate?" Duke questioned. "I didn't think you'd want it."

"I don't. Kaiba told me there was nothing on there I didn't want to know. I still gave it back to him," I said quietly.

"How did he even know you were here? Did he call before or something?" Téa asked. That girl sure liked to ask questions.

I explained that Kaiba came to the school to ask Duke my whereabouts. But, he had seen me before Duke and myself walked into Mister Saito's office. "I'm not even that freaked out about the fact he had all my documents with him. I wanted a job, he gave me one. I'm not gunna complain."

"When do you start?" Duke inquired.

"Who knows? I'll just have to wait for a call. Just hope he doesn't call when I have to take my test later."

~End Flashback~

I hadn't heard from Kaiba since our little meeting. I was kind of worried; maybe he had changed his mind again. I was worried that the stress from this new job would impact on the exam I had to take to determine what class I was being put in.

Turned out my results were high enough to be placed in the top class. I was quite shocked to say the least. No one else knew my results, not even Duke, so I hoped I was being placed in a class with one of the gang.

"Miss Andersen?" the teacher called from the other side of the classroom door.

I took a deep breath, picked up my bag and opened the door. Keeping my head down, I slowly walked in the classroom and stopped when I could see the teacher's shiny black high heels. I looked up at her and smiled. She looked middle aged with long, light brown hair pulled back into a pony tail and pale green eyes.

"Why don't you tell the class a little about yourself?" she offered, gesturing to the class.

I nodded slightly and turned to face the sea of faces. I smiled when I saw Duke's wide smile in the middle of the group. His friends were sitting around him. The was a spare desk between him and Joey. Behind that spare desk, sat Kaiba. In all honesty, he looked rather strange sitting in a class room. He had his head down and appeared to be reading some papers. There was also a spare desk to the right of him, behind Joey. Once i looked around more, I noticed the glaring faces of some of the girls. Maybe they were the ones who wanted to kill me the day before.

"Umm," I began nervously. "I'm Callie. I'm originally from Osaka, but I've been living between Japan and Australia all my life. I only just came back to Japan, so it's going to take me a little bit to get used to this kind of schooling again. I hope I don't annoy too many of you."

I really didn't know what else to say. I was never good with introductions.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Miss Andersen. Now, take a seat next to Mister Devlin there, and we can get started," the teacher said kindly, pointing to the empty desk between Duke and Joey. I smiled as I made my way over. "Oh, I'm Miss Yamada , by the way."

I took my seat and sighed while sliding down in it.

"You right, Cal?" Duke whispered as he leant over towards me.

"I think these girls still wanna kill me. You're such a womaniser, Devlin," I muttered back with a smirk as I kept my eyes ahead of me. The other kids kept glancing back at me.

"Don't worry, Joey will be your body guard-"

"I'll what now?" Joey blurted out loudly, clearly startled that he had been brought into our conversation. Everyone looked back at us.

"Devlin. Wheeler. Leave Miss Andersen alone," Miss Yamada shouted loudly from the front of the room.

Duke suddenly sat up straight and bowed his head, muttering an apology while Joey carrried on about not knowing what he did wrong. I looked in Joey's direction, reached over and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. He looked at me, slightly surprised so I smiled slightly and mouthed 'sorry'. He returned the smile and nodded.

 _He has such a nice smile... It's so genuine..._  I thought as I reached down and pulled a note book out of my book bag. I wondered how lost I was going to be once Miss Yamada began the lesson. I looked over at Duke when the teacher began speaking. He had his book open in front of him, but, he was swinging back on his chair with the end of his pen in his mouth. I didn't think it would have been smart to ask him to help me catch up. He must have noticed me looking at him as he tilted his head towards me and gave me a smile. I smiled back before pulling a pen out of my bag. I opened my book and attempted to listen to Miss Yamada talk about Emily Brontë while taking jumbled notes.

A loud double beep from behind me brought my thoughts back from Wuthering Heights with a jump. A few of the kids in front of me looked behind them to see what had make the noise, which gave my body signals that they were staring at me. Miss Yamada turned to look as well, but casually turned back to the blackboard and continued talking. I tried to ignore them by focusing on the board at the front of the classroom. The out of focus kids quickly turned back to the front as a chair softly scraped behind me. It must have been Kaiba; why else would the teacher not care about him having what sounded like a phone on in class? He did have a big company to run. I guessed they let him come and go as he pleased.

Trying to get my thoughts away from my boss, I lowered my head and jotted down what notes Miss Yamada had just out on the board. I heard foot steps pass me and something white land next to my note book. I glanced over and saw a small piece of paper, folded in half neatly. My eyes shot up and watched Kaiba's retreating back as he walked out the classroom door.

"Lucky jerk," I heard Joey mutter next to me. "Gets to leave whenever he wants, no questions asked."

"I don't think it's to go out and party," I murmured back. "Running his company would take a lot of work."

"Of course you'd stick up for Moneybags; you're working for him."

I frowned. He really didn't like Kaiba. I hoped he and the rest of Duke's friends didn't hate me for working for him. Surely they wouldn't be that slack, I thought as I focused on the piece of paper next to my book. I picked it up and carefully opened it.

_Meet me at the main entrance when you finish._

My cheeks grew hot, and I wasn't really sure why. I didn't think Kaiba was the the kind of person to write little notes and pass them in class. But then, it wasn't really the kind of note passing girls and little crushes partake. Kaiba probably only wanted to get details of my class schedule and tell me when I was starting, nothing worth getting flustered over.

The rain from the day before hadn't really let up, so enjoying our lunch break outside was out of the question. Being stuck inside gave me an opportunity to scope out the school, with the gangs help, of course.

"We'll have to chill in the library," Joey announced as he pushed open a set of double doors that stood at the end of the corridor on the second floor of the school.

I followed the gang through the doors and glanced around. It was just an ordinary library with rows and rows of books surrounding five sets of round table and chairs. The librarian's desk was situated on the other side of the room. Surprisingly, I could only see four other people lounging around. Two girls with brown hair were sitting at the centre table with and a blonde girl with a black haired boy were sitting at the far left table. The library was never a popular chill spot, even in Australia.

"Are we allowed to eat in here?" I asked as we all pulled chairs up to the table closest to the door. I sat facing the door with Duke on my left, Téa on my right, with Yugi next to her, then Joey, and Tristan brought the group full circle.

"Yeah, as long as we stay in this area," Tristan replied as he pulled his lunch out.

I watched the rest of them pull out their lunches. I had been so focused on starting classes, that I had forgotten to grab something to eat. Duke had told me to grab something before we left, but it slipped my mind. Forgotten food wasn't an unusual occurrence for me.

I closed my eyes for a moment and leaned back in my chair. As I did, I heard hushed voices behind me. I wasn't trying to listen in, but I heard Kaiba being mentioned.

"I saw that girl talking to Kaiba yesterday afternoon."

"Yeah well I saw then come out of the meeting room down stairs. Kaiba walked out and she ran after him. Do you think she was trying to get with him?"

"Probably. But, as if she'd have a chance. No one at this school does."

'Trying to get with him?' Gossiping. I assume they're talking about me.

I didn't like people talking about me, but I tried to ignore it. I sat forward and opened my eyes to find a sandwich and muesli bar in front of me. I frowned and looked around the table before my eyes stopped on Duke, who was smiling at me.

"I knew you would forget, so I made sure I had something for you."

I gave a slight laugh. "I'm such an idiot."

Duke draped his arm around my shoulder blades and gave a slight squeeze. "You know I'm gunna look after you while you're here."

"So Callie, where are you living? Do your parents have a house?" Téa questioned.

I stiffened as Duke's arm around me tightened. Duke mustn't have told them about my circumstances. Was I ready to say it aloud to people I didn't really know? I wasn't ready for this the day before, but I knew I had to say something. They were looking at me with concerned faces.

"You can trust these guys, Cal," Duke whispered in my ear. "I think they've realised something's going on."

I slowly let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. Looking down at the lunch Duke had put in front of me, I swallowed nervously. A picture of my adoptive mother popped into my head. Her long brown hair and loving grey eyes. Tears welled up in my eyes and I tried my hardest to stop them from falling. I tilted my head back. She wouldn't want me to hide away. She always complained about me hiding away from people. Maybe it was time to let someone in, who wasn't Duke. I had copped that speech from Kaden.

*Flashback*

"I was wonderin' when I was gonna hear from you," Kaden spoke from the other end of the phone. His voice was deep and his Australian accent was thick.

I was sitting in Duke's spare room while he cooked us some tea. My earlier intentions of calling Kaden to give him an earful had been pushed aside to make way for all the chaos of Kaiba offering me the job with Kaiba Corp that morning, as well as all the school papers.

"I meant to call you this morning. Why did you tell Duke I was thinking about moving back here? You've gotten his hopes up."

"I though he should know. Don't shut him out, Cal," Kaden warned sternly.

"I wasn't shutting him out!" I defended loudly. "I wanted to know what I was doing first before I let anyone else know. He wants me to get to know his friends now."

"And what's wrong with that? You need to let people in. If Duke reckons they're okay, then you should be right. Let them in, Callie. I don't want you to keep stuff bottled up while you're over there, especially if you end up staying there. It's not like I can get up you like I normally do. I'll have to rely on Duke for that."

"Speaking of staying here, I have a job..."

*End Flashback*

It would make Kaden happy if I allowed Duke's friends to know know a bit about me. Starting with my mum's death was a bit bold, but it was unavoidable.

"I'm staying with Duke," I started quietly as I shifted my gaze back to the food in front of me. "My mum died three months ago... I don't know my birth parents so I've come over here by myself..."

The gang was quiet and I didn't feel like crying. I felt a little bit better just by acknowledging that my mum had passed. I still didn't know how I felt telling Duke's friends.

"I'm sorry for asking that, Callie," Téa said suddenly as she reached over and wrapped her arms around me in a comforting hug. I felt Duke remove his arm. I sat there slightly shocked. This girl barely knew me, and there she was comforting me with a hug. I wasn't expecting that. I awkwardly moved my arms and gave her a slight squeeze in return. Téa then pulled away and smiled at me.

"Thank you for trusting us," Yugi piped up. "We're here if you ever need anything."

The topic soon turned away from me and went to Duel Monsters, for which I was grateful. I wasn't a big duelist but I attempted to join the conversation. Joey was complaining about not getting recognition for coming second and forth in Duelist Kingdom and Kaiba's Battle City tournament. Yugi was trying to settle him down, but he was failing miserably. Téa kept scalding everyone about being too noisy, but that was ineffective as well; the librarian soon came over and kicked us out. It was time to head back to class anyway. We all began putting our stuff together; I was moving slower than the others. I heard them leave as I shoved my leftover sandwich in my bag.

"Are you okay?"

I looked up in shock and saw Joey standing behind the chair he was sitting in, smiling slightly. I nodded in response before hoisting my book bag over my shoulder.

"Look, I just wanna say I'm sorry about your mum," Joey said meekly as I walked around the table to stand in front of him. "You didn't have to answer Téa. You looked so hurt."

"I just haven't spoken about it. Truth be told, I haven't even told Duke a great deal," I murmured as I pushed the door leading to the hallway open. I held it for Joey, who thanked me.

Why was I saying that stuff to that boy? I had only met him the day before. Kaden would be happy though, I was opening up to someone. I hoped I was doing the right thing.

"So, you've moving over here all by yourself?" Joey questioned.

"Well, I have no family left... Mum's family refuse to acknowledge my existence. Duke's offered me his spare room and once I sort out my hours with Kaiba and get some money, I can start paying my way. I'm so glad I have him. I don't have many people in my life... Just Duke, and three other people I've left back in Australia..." I concluded as we approached the classroom.

Joey gently placed his hand on my shoulder and turned me to face him. "And, you have us."


	4. Chapter 4

My nerves were finally setting in. Class had just finished and I was freaking out about meeting Kaiba. I was still trying to figure out what he wanted to talk to me about. Maybe it was to offer me my first shift.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Duke asked as he pulled his shoes out of his locker.

We were the only students left in the locker area. Everyone else had high-tailed it out so they didn't get caught in the next wave of rain. The gang wanted to go to the arcade, which I thought was stupid because they were going to get stuck. A huge storm was supposed to set in that afternoon.

"Nah, you guys head to the arcade. I'm sure Google will tell me where to go," I smiled, slamming my locker door.

"Okay..." Duke said uncertainly. "Take my umbrella then."

"An umbrella ain't gonna save me, Devlin. Especially if this storm hits before I make cover," I quipped as I walked over to the umbrella stand where the gang were waiting. I pulled out Duke's black umbrella. I hadn't bought one at that point so Duke had to share his with me.

Rain began pelting down as soon as I opened the door. I sighed angrily. I doubted Kaiba was going to meet me in that weather so I decided I was going to go with the others. I braced myself before stepping out into the downpour. My shoes became wet almost instantly. Duke took hold of the umbrella and began walking towards the main gate while holding the brolly out in front of us. I vaguely heard Joey say something over the roar of the rain, but I kept walking.

As we approached the road, I could see what looked like a black limo pull up just outside the gate. A guy with grey hair, and wearing a black suit jumped out quickly while he opened a black umbrella. I shooed Duke away and watched as the the guy in the suit jogged towards me. Duke held the umbrella out towards me and gave me a stern look. I sighed and took it before he rushed over to share Joey's umbrella.

"Miss Andersen?" the suit called over the rain as he stopped near me. "Can you come with me please. Mister Kaiba wishes for you to accompany him to KaibaCorp." He extended his arm towards the limo.

 _And leave everyone in the rain_? Not likely. I couldn't jump in a nice warm car without the others. And I very much doubted Kaiba would give them a lift, going by their attitudes. And why did Kaiba want me to go to KaibaCorp with him? I thought he just wanted my schedule. But we were in the same class so it wouldn't have been hard to figure out what I had and when. I supposed after school activities had to be taken into account, not that I had picked any. Thinking about it was hurting my brain.

I still couldn't leave the guys. I looked around and spotted them walking down the street. "Sorry," I said loudly. "I can't leave my friends out in the rain. Tell Mister Kaiba I'm sorry and I'll come see him as soon as the rain lets up." I bowed slightly before running after the gang. "Hey, guys! Wait up!"

They didn't stop walking, and I didn't blame them. But, they slowed down a little. As I tried to catch up, I started to feel sick. Ditching Kaiba after he asked me to meet him was kind of a bad move. I hadn't even had my first shift and I was already turning him down. Would he take the job off me?

I watched the gang veer off the foot path into what looked like a park. I followed them towards the other side of the park where there was a large sheltered area. I sighed in relief as I reached the safety of the gazebo.

"Why didn't you go with Kaiba?" Duke asked from beside me.

"I'm not gunna sit in a nice, dry limo while you lot walk around in the rain. What do you take me for, Devlin?" I responded, shaking the umbrella before handing it back to Duke.

"We really wouldn't have cared," Tristan commented as he sat down on one of the two benches behind me.

Before I could say anything, something began vibrating against my boob, scaring me. I quickly pulled it out. It was a number I didn't recognise.

"Hello?"

"You realise it's bad form to decline a meeting with your new employer, especially before you've been given a shift?" Kaiba's rough voice spoke on the other end.

Shit. What was I supposed to say? I didn't think he'd call me so soon.

"I'm sorry Mister Kaiba," I apologised softly. I shouldn't have run off after the gang. They would have been fine, like Tristan said. I mentally kicked myself while my heart pounded against my chest. He was going to take the job off me.

"I suggest you come over to the car now," Kaiba stated coldly. The car? Did he follow us? "Bring them as well," he added before hanging up.

"'Bring them as well'?" I muttered in confusion. Did he mean Duke and his friends? Was he going to give them a lift?

I looked over towards the street and could make out a black limo. I assumed it was Kaiba's. The rain had backed off a little, so it was the perfect time to make a mad dash to the car. I turned to the gang and told them to follow me. I took off towards the car. Shortly after, I could hear feet pounding the ground behind me.

As I approached the limo, the back door opened but no one got out. I assumed it was alright for me to get in. I crawled about half way in and gaped at the interior. The limo was quite specious. A blood red U-shaped seat ran along the edge of the car and two sunroofs were letting in what little light was escaping the clouds. Sitting to the back of the limo was Kaiba. He was wearing the white trench coat he had interviewed me in.

"Hi!"

The high, cheerful voice scared the living daylights out of me. I squealed slightly and looked beside me. During my scan of the limo, I hadn't noticed a little boy of about 12 with long, thick black hair and dark grey eyes. His two tone blue, long sleeve top and yellow, unbuttoned vest added some brightness to the limo.

"C'mon, Cal!" Duke shouted from behind me.

I snapped out of my senses before I said 'hello' to the boy and took a seat near Kaiba. There was a decent sized gap between us. As everyone climbed in, I was forced to shift closer and closer to Kaiba. I could smell his cologne again. I didn't know what it was, but for some reason, it made me calm.

"Where are you lot going?" Kaiba asked as he folded his arms.

"We'll just go to the arcade," Tea piped up from beside the little boy.

"Thanks for giving us a lift, Kaiba," Yugi said kindly as the car began moving.

I looked behind Tea's head and saw a black screen slowly rise, blocking us off from the driver. I turned my head slightly and glanced at Kaiba. He had a slightly irritated look on his face. Having everyone in his limo mustn't have been his idea of a party. I was grateful that he was giving them a lift.

He must have noticed me looking at him because he looked at me out the corner of his eye. My heart jumped and I quickly looked away.

"Hope the rain lets up before we head home," Joey commented between Tristan and Duke. "I ain't walking in the rain again."

"How are you gunna get home if it's raining?" I asked Duke, who was beside me.

He shrugged. "Run I suppose. Unless you get home before I do, then you can come get me. The car keys are inside somewhere."

I frowned at him. I wasn't legally allowed to drive in Japan. Sure, I had an Australian license, but that wouldn't do me much good. I was going to have to see about getting a permit of some sort. I wasn't sure how that stuff worked. "I don't have a permit to drive over here. And I have no idea where I'm going."

"You'll be right, Cal. I'm sure you're a good enough driver that the cops won't even bother to pull you over. And, besides, you said Google would help you," Duke sighed as the limo slowed down to a stop.

Did he realise he was talking about breaking the law while my boss was in the car? I glanced at Kaiba and watched him glare at Duke. I was expecting him to be glaring at me, not my best friend. He clearly didn't like talk of laws being broken. "How are you gunna get home if I don't get there first?" Duke questioned, bringing me back to my senses.

"I dunno," I shrugged as the gang prepared to get out of the car. "I'll find a way."

Duke nodded before giving me a quick hug. "Be careful."

The gang climbed out, while thanking Kaiba, except for Joey. I waved at them before the limo pulled away. There were only three of us in the limo. The little boy across from us kept looking at me curiously. It was then I realised I was still sitting rather close to Kaiba. Should I move? Would it be rude to move away? Is he uncomfortable being so close to me.

I decided to stay still. "Thank you for giving them a lift," I murmured, looking down at my lap.

"It won't happen again," Kaiba said stiffly.

"Is she your new PA, Seto?" the little boy spoke, making me jump.

Kaiba nodded. "Miss Andersen, this is my brother, Mokuba."

"Hi, Mokuba," I greeted with a smile. "I'm Callie."

Mokuba smiled back. They looked so different. And, Mokuba seemed so much more cheery than his brother. Almost polar opposites. I wondered how Kaiba became such a grouch. Maybe he had been like his little brother at one point. It was pointless to think about that, though. There was no way I'd ever have access to that information. It was none of my business.

"Miss Andersen, while you are working for me, you must maintain a professional attitude during your working hours," he stated as he glared at me. Was he talking about the way I introduced myself to his brother? Or the fact I had been conversing with Duke while sitting next to him. How was I to know I was in working hours? I suppose getting in his limo and going to his office was clear enough.

"Yes, Sir. Sorry," I muttered.

I have to be professional, I have to be professional, I kept telling myself as Kaiba lead the way through KaibaCorp. People kind of kept their heads down as we walked past. Were they afraid of Kaiba? Honestly, I really didn't blame them; he was pretty intimidating. But, I would have thought they would have some nerve to actually acknowledge him as they passed, seeing as they were working for him.

As Kaiba, Mokuba and I stepped into the elevator, I wondered what working for Kaiba was going to be like. I had always wanted a PA, but I didn't have any training or experience, not to mention the fact I was still in school. Also, in the town I lived in back in Australia, there weren't many PA positions; that was a big city job. I hoped I was good enough to keep this job.

The doors slid open smoothly and we made our way down a familiar corridor. We were on the top floor. I walked as close as possible to the wall opposite the glass panes. I really didn't wanna trip and fall out the window.

Kaiba stopped in front of his office doors. He unlocked them before pushing one open and stepping in. I let Mokuba in first then I followed, closing the door behind me. The office looked different. Kaiba's desk, and big, comfy chair were in the same spot, but, the lounge had been moved to the other side of the room. The bookcase that also been behind the lounge had been replaced by a simple desk with a high back chair. It didn't look as comfortable as Kaiba's big executive one.

"That's your desk," Kaiba spoke from his desk. "You are to keep it tidy."

I looked towards him and nodded as I walked towards the lone chair I had sat in during my interview. My own desk in his office. I thought it might have been set up outside his office or something. Would I be able to get anything done with him watching me?

"There will generally always be someone in here with you; if I'm not here, Mokuba will be," Kaiba explained as he motioned behind me. I looked to see Mokuba sprawled out on the lounge, remote in hand.

What's the remote to? I thought as he pressed a button. Light out the corner of my eye brought to my attention a large flat screen TV mounted to the roof, hanging over the office doors. Must be for when Mokuba's in here.

"In case you're wondering, Mokuba is Vice President, so you answer to him as well."

I stared at Kaiba in shock. Mokuba was VP? How could that little boy have so much pressure put on him? I really needed to stop worrying about their business. It didn't concern me.

"What about hours, Sir?" I asked meekly.

"I can't really give you solid hours until you sort out your time table. I'm aware we're in the same class, but I need information about your afternoon clubs and such. There is also the option of using your position here as your extra curricular activity."

"I'll have to see what other clubs there are," I said, although I was already considering just using the job. It would have been so much easier, I assumed.

"That's fine. Now, I have a meeting in five minutes, so Mokuba will be here with you. I want you to research this for me," Kaiba announced as he handed me a piece of paper. Chrome Industries? There was a brief description of the company, which I didn't really read. "Once I'm finished, I'll take you home."

"Is there anything in particular you want from my research?" I asked as Kaiba stood up and walked around the desk.

"Name of the owner, CEO, who holds shares, anything you can dig up," he said gruffly, walking out the door and closing it behind him.

I sighed and stood up. My first bit of work. Hopefully looking up this company would be easy. I wondered why Kaiba wanted info on it. Was he going into business with them? I slowly wandered over to my desk and plopped into the chair. There was a silver laptop in front of me that I had not noticed on the desk before. I opened it and turned it on.

"You're close to Duke?" Mokuba piped up from his spot on the lounge across from me.

I looked up at him and nodded. "He's been my friend for many years. I'm still adjusting to his friends though."

"I'm surprised Seto gave you the job," Mokuba commented. I knew he didn't mean anything by it.

"Me too, Mokuba. I'm actually surprised he gave them all a lift."

"I asked him to. He may not like them a great deal, but they've helped my big brother, and he's helped them," he said quietly.

Well that was news to me. "Well, thank you. I couldn't leave them out in the rain," I smiled as I looked at the computer screen. I had to make myself a KaibaCorp login. How fun.

"Do you duel?" Mokuba asked.

I laughed. "I wish. I'm hopeless at Duel Monsters. It doesn't stop me from watching what goes on in that world. Maybe your brother could give me a few pointers," I joked.

"I doubt it."

"Yeah, me too."

Mokuba and I kept talking while I skimmed through various pages relating to Chrome Industries. I had heard of them before. I jotted down what I though would be beneficial to Kaiba. There wasn't much I could get. It was very repetitive. I just hoped I found something useful.

The office door opened just as it hit dark outside and Kaiba walked in, slightly annoyed. I looked at the clock on the computer. 7.15pm.

"Are you okay, Seto?" Mokuba asked his big brother.

"I'm fine, Mokuba," Kaiba cooed before rounding on me. "What did you find?" he asked coldly.

That was sudden. I quickly sorted my notes and stood up as Kaiba walked over to his chair.

"I really couldn't find a lot," I began as he sat down. I hurried over to his desk and stood in front of it. "Chrome Industries mainly focuses on virtual reality, they have offices in 5 countries, including Japan, a woman named Viola Rodriguez took over the company five years ago. Um, I couldn't get any info on the previous owner. There was nothing on their share holders, but they own shares with Industrial Illusions and KaibaCorp. Ten percent of Industrial Illlusions, twenty five of KaibaCorp."

"Twenty five percent too much," Kaiba growled.

I placed my notes on his desk and pushed them towards him. "I'm sorry I couldn't get more."

"That's probably all they want the general public to know. I couldn't get much either. I'll have to take extreme measures," he said as he picked up my notes and slipped them into his desk drawer.

I gave him a confused look. Extreme measures? I wondered what he meant. Would I be allowed to ask? I decided against it. I didn't want to annoy him.

"Are we going home now, Seto?"

"Yeah," Kaiba sighed as he stood up again and walked over to Mokuba. "We have to take Miss Andersen home first."

"Are you sure? You don't have to. I can see if Duke is home-"

"Let's go," Kaiba cut me off.

The walk down to Kaiba's limo was quiet. I had trouble keeping up with Kaiba's long strides. I had a feeling I looked like a lost puppy, trailing along behind him. How Mokuba kept up with him, I didn't know. They were both ahead of me as we walked through the foyer, which was dead, except for the brunette woman at the reception desk.

_She's here late._

"Good night, Mister Kaiba. I'll lock up for you," she spoke from her spot as we walked past. "Oh, Miss Andersen. Congratulations on the job."

I smiled at her. She seemed nice. I wondered what her name was. She wasn't wearing a name tag. The more I thought about it, I realised she hadn't been wearing one the day I rocked up for my interview. Weird, maybe the don't need them.

"Make sure the alarm system is turned on," Kaiba snipped without looking at her. Why was he so rude to everyone?

We walked outside and I nearly froze solid. The wind was brutal. I mentally kicked myself for forgetting my jacket that morning. I wrapped my arms around myself while quietly swearing at the wind. The rain had stopped though, so that was a plus.

"Hurry up and get in," Kaiba said as he stood next to the open door of the limo. I hadn't even noticed it sitting there. "Before you freeze."

I stiffly ran over to the limo and practically dove through the door. I sat on the seat along the side wall and shivered, while rubbing my arms. The limo was warm, but not warm enough.

"You really should have a jacket, Callie," Mokuba scolded lightly, who was sitting on the seat that backed onto the front cabin.

"I forgot to grab it this morning. Anyway, I didn't think I was going to be outside this late," I laughed through my chattering teeth.

I saw something come flying at me out the corner of my eye, which ended up covering my head. Kaiba's cologne instantly filled my nostrils and I could feel my cheeks getting hot.

"There. Quit complaining," Kaiba voiced from the back of the limo as I pulled off whatever was covering my head.

His trench? I looked at Kaiba curiously. He didn't look back, he kept his eyes on the view out the window, not that there was much to look at out there. I quickly wrapped his white trench coat around me as the limo began to move. It didn't matter that it didn't have sleeves; my arms were tucked snug inside. The trench itself was still warm from Kaiba's body heat.

The limo was silent, and it was kind of irritating me. I wanted to thank Kaiba for his jacket, but I was scared of him snapping at me. I wasn't sure why though, I'd stood up to him before. But I didn't have anything to lose then. I had the job. I really wanted it.

"How'd your meeting go?" I finally murmured, glancing at Kaiba. I didn't even know what his meeting had been about, but I had to break the silence. I could ask him about that, but not thank him? I never understood my mind.

Kaiba closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It was a waste of time. I didn't gain any information. I essentially got what you found."

So he had been trying to get more information on Chrome Industries. Maybe he had a meeting with a representative. I was getting more curious about his reasons for wanting the details of that company.

"Are you planning on going into business with them?" I asked curiously.

Kaiba's eyes moved to me and stayed there, as if studying me. I shouldn't have asked. I was going to cop it. After a moment, he sighed. "For the past two months, they've been buying a couple a shares every few days. I've never had any dealings with them before. They just came out of the blue. "

"So they bought them off another company?"

"They must have. And, I need to know why."

"But, what if they intend on doing business with you?"

"I still need to know what their deal is."

 _Oh, that's right. He's Mister I Need To Know Everything_.

"Can't you just hire a PI?"

Kaiba furrowed his brows. "You ask a lot of questions."

"Just like you did when we first met."

Where did that come from? I widened my eyes as Kaiba frowned. Yep. He was going to have a go. I quickly bowed my head and muttered 'sorry'. Why did I do that? He owned the damn company; of course he asked a lot of questions. But, he still didn't need to ask questions about Duke.

"Touché, Miss Andersen," Kaiba said softly, making me look up in surprise. He was looking out the window again.

Why didn't he snap at me? As the limo pulled to a stop, I looked towards Mokuba for some form of guidance, but he was looking at his brother with a soft look on his face.

"Um, I guess this is my stop," I said nervously as I moved to slide off the seat.

Kaiba climbed out and held the door open for me. I guessed he didn't want me crawling over him. I clambered out onto the cold street. I glanced up at the freaky clown on top of Duke's shop.

"Thanks for the lift, Mister Kaiba," I smiled up at Kaiba. "Oh." I pulled his trench off and handed it back to him. He slipped it on effortlessly.

"I'd like you to meet me near Saito's office tomorrow morning. You need to sort out clubs," Kaiba said quickly as I shivered. He must have known I was freezing. He climbed back into the car. As soon as he slammed the door, they took off down the street, leaving me to stand there like a fool.

"See you tomorrow then," I muttered to myself before bolting around the back of the shop.


	5. Chapter 5

_It was dark. My hands were being held above my head while I was pinned against the building wall. A heavy body pushed against my back. A hand was covering my mouth, preventing my screams. The wall was cold against my cheek. I could see the road, a good twenty metres away. It was peak hour; loads of cars around. People walked past the opening to the lane-way. No one realised what was going on._

_Heavy breathing in my ear horrified me. The strong stench of cigarette lingered around my nose, making it sting_.

 _Pushing away from the wall in an attempt to get them off me failed. Sobs racked my body. They pushed me harder into the wall_.

_"Shut up and be a good girl," a laboured voice warned in my ear as a hand travelled up my thigh._

My eyes shot open as I jolted out of my sleep. My breathing was ragged. Sweat covered my neck and face. I sat up and ran a hand through my hair. Looking around the dark room, I began to feel quite vulnerable. The curtains were open, letting in the dim light radiating from the street lamps outside. I quickly jumped out of bed, ran over and pulled the curtains shut. My eyes darted around before I practically dove back into bed and pulled the doona over my head.

I hadn't dreamed about that in close to a year. Other things had kept my mind off that night three years ago. Tears filled my eyes. I didn't want it on my mind. I didn't want that man controlling my life again. Rolling over on my side, I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them tightly. Why did Duke have to bring it up?

*Flashback*

The roller door for the garage squealed loudly as I rolled it up. I cringed as I ducked under it, and pulled it back down. I sighed.

"Where have you been?!" Duke's frantic voice called as soon as I reached the stairs.

I looked up at him, standing on the top step. I frowned and began my ascent. "I was with Kaiba? Where else would I have been?"

"Why can't you answer your damn phone, Cal?" Duke snapped as he moved out of the way for me.

I kicked off my shoes and slipped my feet into the slippers waiting for me. They were nice and warm. I walked into the living area and plopped down on the lounge.

"I didn't hear it go off,' I said curiously as I reached into my bra and pulled out my phone. "It's flat."

"Well why didn't you try to call? Let me know what your were doing? Anything could have happened to you," Duke said angrily as he sat on the recliner across from me.

"Seriously Duke, Kaiba had me do some work. I lost track of time and then he brought me home. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself, you know," I sighed as I leaned back into the sofa.

"Like you took care of yourself three years ago?" Duke snapped, causing me to glare at him.

"What was that?" I questioned darkly, fighting back every thought I had at that moment.

"You heard me; you should have let me walk you home! If you weren't so damn stubborn, he wouldn't have grabbed you!" Duke shouted, extending his arm towards some unknown entity.

I glared at him. I didn't know what else to do. Against my will, my body began shaking violently. My breathing became laboured. The thoughts I had been trying to push back flooded my brain like a tidal wave. I gripped my head and groaned in my throat, trying to get a hold of myself. I looked back up at Duke, with every intention of snapping at him.

However, the scared look on his face made every insult I had on the tip of my tongue fly out the window. Duke made a move to come towards me, but I held my hand out, signalling him to stop, which he did. I couldn't look at him any more. I couldn't be in the same room.

I stood up and stormed out of the lounge room, towards my room, trying desperately to stop myself from screaming. Images flashed through my mind, the hallway began to spin. I managed to stumble into my room before slamming the door. I rested my forehead against the door with my arm above it to support myself. Breathe in. Breathe out. Think about something else. Anything.

Nothing else came to mind. I was forced to relive that night in my mind.

*End Flashback*

Three years before I had been walking home from Duke's place one night. It had just hit dark so the peak hour traffic seemed endless. There was plenty of artificial light around but that didn't stop some horrid man from pulling me into a near-by ally. I tried so hard to get away. People walked past the lane-way, but were oblivious to what was happening. Or they just didn't care.

He hit me across the face. I cried out, desperate for anyone's help. But, it was useless. He had his way with me. He took my innocence. He took every ounce of respect I had for myself.

Once he was finished he just tossed me aside and took off. I wasn't aware of how long I sat there, curled up in a ball. I didn't want to move. I couldn't move. The next thing I remembered was Duke crouching down beside me, trying to get me to talk to him. Apparently I had forgotten my jacket and he was walking to my place to give it back. He heard someone sobbing in the darkness. That was when he discovered me. He never told me how he knew to call the ambulance and the police. I guessed he didn't want me to worry about it.

They caught him and he was given a ten year sentence. It didn't put my mind at ease, even when I was in Australia.

Sobs racked my body as I cried. I looked at my arm. Various scars and healing scabs littered my forearm. I quickly scratched at the scabs, shredding the bits of dried blood. I wanted to forget everything.

~

Duke's loud, obnoxious snores echoed through the hallway the next morning as I quietly crept around the house. I wanted to be out of there by the time he woke up. I hadn't spoken to him since he yelled at me. Unless you counted when I yelled at him to 'piss off' about an hour after I ran into the room. I had been laying on the bed, curled up in a ball, trying to calm down my shaking body, when Duke knocked on the door. He called out my name as he slowly turned the handle, and that was when I shouted at him.

Making sure I kept quiet, I cleaned up my mess and placed Duke's lunch on the end of the bench with a simple note: I'll see you at school. I hoped my bitterness towards him would wear off by the time school started. However, I still couldn't shake my thoughts away, no matter how hard I tried. Maybe I should have let him say what he wanted to the night before. He was letting me stay with him, after all. I must have seemed like a real attention seeker.

I pulled my trench coat tighter as I straightened up outside the garage. It may not have been part of the dress code but it was warm. The clouds from the day before had drifted off, but the wind had a bite to it; you could tell it was autumn. The sun was nice though.

Regardless of how I acted when it came to knowing my way around Domino, I only knew where some places where. When I lived there with my mum, I didn't really pay attention to where stuff was. I just knew how to get from point A to point B.

I had a fair idea of where I was going, and I felt relieved as I saw a group of four girls with my school uniform walking ahead of me. Surely they were heading to school as well. I made sure I followed them, not too closely though so I wasn't noticed. That idea failed though; one of the girls looked back and immediately turned back to her friends and began to whisper excitedly. I rolled my eyes. Maybe they were bitching about my trench coat.

"Hey! Callie!"

I spun around in shock and watched Joey run up the footpath towards me. I waved meekly as he approached. "Hey Joey."

"Where's Duke? I thought for sure he'd be walking with ya," Joey observed as we continued walking behind the group of girls, that had strangely closed the gap between us a little bit.

"I left without him. I'm sure he's not too far behind, though," I said casually as I looked behind me to make sure Duke wasn't following.

"Really? Strange. He seems very protective of you. I didn't think he'd let you go off by yourself. Especially after last night," Joey said.

Huh? Last night? Did Duke freak out in front of them? Did he say something to them about when happened? "Why? What happened?"

"Oh, nothing really. He just spazzed out 'cause he couldn't get a hold of you. Went on about not wanting something to happen and how he'd never forgive himself. Yeah, he sounds over protective," Joey explained as he laughed slightly.

I took in a deep breath. Duke nearly said something about it. There's no way I'd let these guys know what happened. Sure, they were nice, and really didn't look like a judgmental bunch, but I barely knew them.

"He promised my guardian he would look after me while I'm here. He was just being an idiot. He knows I can look after myself," I said defensively as I held my arms behind my head. My bag strap cut into my shoulder, but I didn't care.

We kept walking in silence for a bit, my eyes focused on the girls ahead of us, who kept looking back. What was so fascinating? I hoped I wasn't going to get picked on for whatever reason. I thought back to the day before in the library. Those girls were talking about me. It was kind of obvious. Typical high school. It was silly of me to have thought Japanese high schools would be different to the ones over in Australia.

A strong, earthy scent drifted up my nose as we walked along. I closed my eyes, and savoured the scent. It must have been Joey's cologne. The scent shifted my mind to a grassy clearing in the middle of a dense forest. Birds were chirping around me, the wind swept through the grass. It seemed tranquil.

"So, how did yesterday go with Moneybags?" Joey questioned suddenly, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Huh? 'Moneybags'?" I pondered before realising who Joey was talking about. "Oh, Kaiba. Um, it was okay. I had to do research on some company while he went to a meeting. Got to talk to Mokuba for a bit though. He's a nice kid."

"Hard to believe he's related to that jerk," Joey said carelessly.

"What do you guys have against him?" I asked curiously, conflicted on how I should handle Joey's comment. Kaiba was my boss; realistically, I should have told Joey not to say thing like that in front of me. But I didn't want to seem like a bitch. A bit of background info would have helped immensely.

Joey looked at me out the corner of his eye as we neared the gates of the school. "He tore up Yugi's grandpa's duel monsters card, he's had it in for Yugi ever since Yugi wiped the floor with him, and he calls me names too. He's just an arrogant jerk," he rambled, clearly getting more agitated as he went.

I didn't question any further. It was just teenagers butting heads. Surely. "Speaking of Kaiba," I started as we stopped in the middle of the courtyard. The girls we had been following were standing nearby. I tried my best to ignore them. "I have to meet him near Mister Saito's office. I have to sort out club stuff."

Why?" Joey asked.

"We're gunna see about making my job my club activity. He doesn't have any other PA, so the more time I can spend there, the better," I explained as we began walking towards the building.

"I dunno why you'd wanna spend more time with him," Joey muttered. I pretended I didn't hear him.

There were numerous students in the locker hall, just standing around and chatting. A clock above the entrance read 8.45AM. Duke would be there at any moment. I opened my locker and changed my shoes.

"Hey, Joey?" I asked.

"Yeah?" Joey responded from his spot on the floor beside me. His locker was near the floor.

"Thanks for walking with me."

Joey got off the ground and dusted himself off. "I told you yesterday, you have us. We're your friends, whether you like it or not. It wasn't like I was gunna stay behind you and act like I didn't know ya. It was nice walking with  you anyway," he smiled.

"I better go, I think I'm late," I laughed before bowing. "I'll see you later."

"Catch ya, Callie!" Joey called as I walked away.

People looked at me as I walked through the corridor. It was making me uncomfortable. I wanted to slide into this school unnoticed, I did a great job of that. I just kept my eyes ahead of me, focused on Saito's office. As I neared it, I noticed Kaiba was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was already in there? Or he could have been late.

"Callie!" Duke's voice called from behind me. I ignored him and quickened my pace.

"Callie!" he called again.

 _I don't wanna talk right now, Duke!_  I thought angrily. I was one door away from my destination.

"Damn it, Caledonia!"

He was right behind me. I reached out for the door handle, but Duke grabbed my shoulder. I turned to face him. I didn't want to, but I did.

"I can't talk right now."

"Will you just let me apologise?" he pleaded as he ran his hand through his hair. It was only then that I realised he didn't have it pulled up, or his bandana around his forehead. It made him look young and vulnerable. He must have just got up and left the house without much thought.

"Duke, I can-"

"I wanted you to realise how scared I was. I didn't know if Kaiba had made you walk home by yourself, or if you told him you could walk by yourself. You're so damn stubborn, Cal. With that thought at the back of my head, I didn't know if something had happened, or if you had done something stupid... Kaden told me what you've been doing..." Duke muttered.

I instinctively grabbed my left forearm. "We're not talking about that now," I muttered. There was only one thing Duke was talking about. How could Kaden tell him?

"I know you're pissed off with me, and you should be. I shouldn't have brought it up and I'm so sorry..."

Duke's eyes looked so pained. Worried. I looked away from him. I forgave him, but I still didn't want to talk about it. "I have to go in here, Duke," I said quietly, placing my hand on the handle. "I'll talk to you later."

Without looking up, I opened the door and slipped inside. "I'm sorry for barging in Mister Saito," I apologised as I slowly lifted my head. "But I'm supposed to meet - Oh."

Kaiba was already sitting in front of Saito's desk, wearing his school uniform. I wondered how long he was gunna stick around before he left for KaibaCorp. He looked at me over his shoulder before looking at his paperwork. "You're late. Two times out of three, you should really work on that."

I opened my mouth to apologise, but Saito, who was sitting behind the desk, spoke first. "Now, now, Seto, don't be so hard on her; she has a lot going on. Take a seat, Callie." He gestured towards the seat beside Kaiba.

"I am sorry, Mister Kaiba," I murmured as I quickly plopped into the seat next to the tall brunette. The familiar scent of Kaiba's cologne filled my nose. The corner of my lips twitched upwards slightly.

Kaiba made a noise of acknowledgement in his throat before saying, "Let's just focus on what we're here for."

It was strange sitting next to Kaiba and hearing him talk about me as if I weren't there. He actually talked to Saito about what he thought would be best for me. Of course, I had a say, but I just shrugged. I didn't know what would be best. Saito thought it might have been best to have a trial of having club obligations one week, and work for Kaiba the next. I was shown a list of active clubs to choose from. I gave them a quick glance, but none took my fancy.

"Do I need to choose a club?" I questioned, looking up from the list.

"Well, no," Saito began slowly. "But I think joining one might be beneficial to you. You're only new here. You might be able to make some friends."

"I have friends though, Duke and his friends. They've been very nice to me."

Beside me, Kaiba scoffed. I glanced at him out the corner of my eye and pursed my lips. I had half a mind to say something about him not having friends, but I thought better of it.

Saito nodded, accepting my retaliation. "If you don't want to join a club, we can just make your job an extra curricular activity. You're okay with that, Seto?"

Kaiba nodded. "Make it so."

"I'll get it sorted right away. I've gotten signatures, so that should be all. You two can sort out days and hours," Saito smiled as he gathered all his papers.

Kaiba gathered his and stood up. I stood up as he walked towards the door. I followed him out the door. That all seemed rather easy; why did Kaiba need to be there? Why couldn't he have just told me to get and sort out clubs, instead of telling me to meet him?

"You and Devlin fighting?" Kaiba asked as I closed the office door, scaring me. I spun around quickly to see Kaiba standing near me with one hand in his pocket, the other carrying his briefcase.

"Uhh, why do you want to know?" I asked cautiously. Why did he want to know? Why did he care?

"I heard Devlin say something about apologising and my name was mentioned," he stated simply. Of course; ears perked up once his name was said. He probably even heard the whole thing. "And you looked upset when you walked in."

Kaiba took notice of how I looked? Why did that seem weird to me? He had been somewhat nice to me in the two days I had known him. He gave me a job, he gave Duke and his friends a lift after I had pretty much ditched him. He even gave me a lift home. It was contradicting everything I knew of him. Self-absorbed, arrogant, cold, heartless. That was the impression I got from seeing him on TV, and from speaking to Duke and Joey. Maybe he was just being a good boss. That had to be it.

"It's nothing you need to worry about Mister Kaiba. I don't know about you, but I need to go to class," I smiled at him before heading down the hallway a bit.

"After class, we'll sort out your hours," Kaiba said as he walked next to me.

"What? During our break?" I asked in shock.

"At least I know you won't be late," he snipped as he reached in front of me and opened the door.

The class fell silent as I stepped through the doorway. All eyes were on me before they darted to the figure behind me. Duke's eyes were among them. They still held so much sadness. He had his bandana around his forehead and his hair was pulled up. He must have made himself decent after our run in. I couldn't look at him though.

"Oh, Miss Andersen, Mister Kaiba," Miss Yamada said happily from the front of the class. "I wasn't expecting you so soon. Take your seats." Did she know of our meeting? She must have. I didn't think we'd be greeted so kindly if she thought we were being tardy.

I legged it to my desk beside Duke and sunk into it. Kaiba walked past me and took his seat behind me. Every student turned to look at me, or maybe they were looking at Kaiba. I really didn't care; I just wanted them to stop. I knew people were gunna start talking about me again.

"You were with Kaiba?" Duke whispered from next to me.

"Had to organise extra curricular activities," I muttered back, watching the other kids slowly turn away from us and focus on Miss Yamada at the front of the classroom. Joey mustn't have told Duke what was going on.

"With him?"

"My job is extra curricular. He sorted it out."

Once our first break rolled around, Duke pushed his chair away from his desk and turned to face me. "Can we talk now?"

I looked away nervously. "Um. I don't think so, I need to do something..." I trailed off, as I gazed at Kaiba, who stood up, briefcase in hand. He was leaving?

"But Cal-"

"Let's go," Kaiba cut Duke off, as he walked past me.

"Uh, okay," I called after him. I turned to Duke. "I'm sorry... We'll talk later." I stood up and grabbed my bag. Duke looked away, his eyes shadowed. It tore at my heart. He only wanted to apologise properly, I guessed. "Love you, Duke."

Duke's head jolted up. He stared at me for a second before a feint smile appeared on his face. "Love you too, Cal."

I ran after Kaiba who was just out the door, but not before hearing numerous chairs scrape behind me. I caught up to Kaiba and walked beside him. The corridor was empty so I was grateful I didn't have to push through people.

"Where are we going?" I asked, trying to match his long strides.

"Somewhere quiet," he muttered. He seemed annoyed.

We came across the meeting room Kaiba had taken me to when I signed my employment papers. He opened the door and motioned for me to enter. I ducked in and he followed, closing the door behind him.

The room looked exactly as it did the last time I was in there, but something was different. The whole room felt weird. I didn't know what it was. I frowned as I took a seat in the same spot as before, trying to figure out why it felt so different. Kaiba surprised me by taking a seat next to me. I glanced at him, taking in his close proximity to me. I could feel heat rising to my face. His cologne hit me like a wave. Why was he sitting so close?

Kaiba placed his briefcase on the table and opened it. He pulled out a purple faux leather diary, a ballpoint pen, and a black laptop.

"This is yours." He pushed the diary towards me. "Keep track of when your shifts are and what errands I need you to do."

I picked it up and flicked through it. The new book smell blocked out Kaiba's cologne for a brief moment. I placed it back down in front of me and breathed deeply. I was getting a sneaking suspicion why the atmosphere was strange, but I pushed it down.

"Your time table is the same as mine, so we just need to sort out what days you want to work," Kaiba said quietly as he opened his computer.

"Aren't there days you want me to work? Like weekends and such?" I asked, slightly confused. I thought Kaiba would have been all over being in control of my hours.

"You are entitled to a say," Kaiba said as he looked at me.

My breathing hitched. I was so close to him. I freaked a little bit by emitting a slight squeak. I quickly looked away as I opened the diary to a random page and picked up the pen. "I can work whenever you want me to. Just give me time to study for tests and stuff."

This couldn't be happening. My heart was beating wildly. I tried to calm down my breathing. I bit my lower lip and placed my hand over my heart.

"Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday?" Kaiba offered.

"Uh, yeah," I said distractedly as I zoned out while looking at the diary. Was I beginning to like Kaiba? Surely not. I barely knew him. It had to have been pure infatuation. Infatuation with a tall, brunette, blue eyed CEO who was a bit of an asshole. How did I develop a crush on him? I hadn't spent that much time with him. Were my feelings purely superficial? Surely I wasn't that shallow? I hated my mind.

"Are you okay?" Kaiba asked quietly as I crashed back to reality.

I sat upright as I said quickly, "Yep! Why wouldn't I be? Just zoning out!" I was pretty sure I sounded too happy. I didn't look at him though.

It didn't take us long to finalise hours. I would work three hours Monday, Thursday and Friday after school, then six hours Saturday and Sunday. Those were just trial hours to see how I'd cope. Kaiba made a copy of my roster to give to Saito and packed up his stuff. I clipped my pen to the diary and stood up. I reached up over my head and stretched.

"Better get back to class," I pushed out before letting my arms fall. "I need to talk to Duke, before he cries..."

Movement from outside the door caught my attention. I listened closely. Footsteps could be heard scuttling down the hallway. Were people eavesdropping? I rolled my eyes.

"Is this about the conversation I overheard this morning?" Kaiba asked, walking around me before facing me. "What was he apologising about?"

I furrowed my brows. He seems to be digging a little deep for an employer. I decided to play a little bit see what his game was. I didn't know what brought on the sudden arrogance, but I needed to see why Kaiba was being the opposite of what other people had perceived him to be.

"Getting a bit nosy, Kaiba?" I asked as I placed my hand on my hip.

"Simply looking out for an employee. Can't have you compromising your work performance," Kaiba responded simply. It was strange to have him stand in front of me, worrying about my emotional state.

"But we're not at work. My emotions shouldn't bother you while I'm off duty," I said quietly, looking him dead in the eye. "Why are you worried, Kaiba?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at me for a moment, and I thought for sure I was going to cop an earful. But he just stared at me, slowly softening his gaze.

"I told you before," he finally said, lowly, shadowing his eyes. "I know what it's like to lose everything. I know how much it fucks you over. Our parents disappeared when Mokuba and I were young..."

Kaiba was opening up to me? He was empathising with me? A well off, strong man who came across as somewhat distant and arrogant, opening up to someone he barely knew? I wondered if he had openly talked about the loss of his parents. Going by how he was acting, I doubted it. My first instinct was to comfort him, so I did. I placed my hand on his forearm, causing him to look at me, slightly surprised.

"You know you can talk to me, if you need to," I said quietly, giving him a small smile.

That was when his eyes glazed over and he stepped away from me. "I don't need to talk, Andersen. Let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

I couldn't tell if reaching out to Kaiba had been a good idea or not. In the two weeks that followed, he barely spoke to me, at all. He told me what I needed to do at work and that was it. I figured he wasn't used to people being nice towards him. I tried to give him as much space as I could. Regardless of his attitude towards me, I still couldn't help but think about what I felt when we had been in that meeting room. I had come to the conclusion that I was fangirling about being in the same room as Kaiba, alone. Sure, I had been alone with him before, but I guessed his looks were getting to me. That was all. It had to be.

Rumours were flying around the school, which didn't help anything. Turned out a bunch of girls had followed Kaiba and me out of the classroom and eavesdropped on our meeting. I thought it might have been people being sticky beaks. They must have let their lips loose as soon as they could. One rumour was that Kaiba had made out with me, another was that I had thrown myself at him and he threw me off before going off at me. I had loads of girls come up to me during breaks, while I was with Duke and his friends, asking if I enjoyed throwing myself at guys, which lead to me finding out about that I had been trying to get with Duke and Joey as well, apparently. They had heard me say 'love you' to Duke and went to town. Duke went off his nut when the last group of girls came over. He told them not so nicely to go away and to leave me alone.

If that wasn't enough, the papers began their little rumours. Because Kaiba gave me lifts to work from school and took me home, they decided to publish that we were a couple. The girls at school had a field day. I didn't know what Kaiba thought of it; he never spoke to me about it. I never brought it up with anyone because I assumed they already knew, but never spoke of it.

Apart from my celebrity life and Kaiba ignoring me, things were steady. Duke's friends had really accepted me as part of their group. They had even invited me to some sort of event Saturday night. I didn't know what it entailed, and I didn't ask, but I was eager to hang out with them somewhere other than school. The only problem I had with that, was asking Kaiba about leaving work early.

I was seated at my desk, staring at my computer screen while Kaiba was at his desk, on the phone. Mokuba was sitting next to me, doing his homework, casually glancing up at my computer screen once in a while. I just hoped he couldn't see what I was looking at. Myself and Mokuba had been getting on quite well. I had been trying to not get too close, but he was so cute.

"Math sucks," Mokuba muttered, throwing his pen down on the desk and ruffling his hair in frustration.

"I'm sorry hun," I said without taking my eyes off the fanfiction I was reading and rubbing Mokuba's back. "I'm no good either. Maybe your brother will help you."

Mokuba snorted. "He's too busy. You know that, Callie."

I looked away from the computer and pulled Mokuba's work book towards me, in hopes I may have been able to help a little bit. Numbers and letters. Algebra. Nope.

"Algebra. Now, I'm sure if you go over and give him puppy dog eyes..." I trailed off as I pushed Mokuba's book back towards him. "I'm sure he'll help."

"I can hear you," Kaiba called from his spot at his desk. He must have ended his phone call.

That was the first time in three hours he had spoken to me. I wanted to confront him about why he was barely acknowledging me. But I didn't know how to approach him. Not to mention I had to ask him about leaving an hour early the next day to hang with Duke and the others. I looked at the clock on the computer screen.

"It's that late already," I yawned, stretching my arms over my head.

"What's the time?" Mokuba asked.

"Six thirty-"

"And, you've barely done anything," Kaiba butted in.

I glared over at him. "Excuse me, I did everything you asked me to do, Kaiba," I snapped, but immediately sunk back into the chair. Why did I do that?

"Did you ask if there was more?" Kaiba asked as he stood up.

"Um.. No.." I trailed off, mentally hitting myself.

"No. You sat there and read fanfiction. You're computer is connected to KaibaCorp's network. I can see what you're doing."

He walked around his desk and sauntered over to mine. I sunk further into my chair and quickly closed the browser window; not that it mattered.

"Don't get mad at her, Seto," Mokuba piped up as Kaiba placed his hands on the desk.

Kaiba moved his gaze from me to his little brother, who cowered a little. Kaiba was going to snap at him, I knew it. I was shocked when Kaiba's eyes softened. "Go get something to eat, Mokuba. I want to speak to Caledonia alone."

Since when did he call me Caledonia? It was always Miss Andersen. Did I piss him off? I pondered what he wanted to talk about as Mokuba stood up.

"Good luck, Callie," he whispered before he ran out of the office.

I turned my attention to Kaiba, who moved around to my side of the desk and took Mokuba's seat. He lent back into it and folded his arms. I tried not to look at him. He was so good looking at that point.

"What's bothering you?"

"Huh?" Wasn't expecting that one. I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"You've barely spoken to me since last week. You've been zoning out, not to mention your fanfiction addiction the past couple of days. You were all for this job last Monday. I was shocked at how enthusiastic you were. Are you not enjoying it?"

 _Stop acting like you care, Kaiba_ , I thought bitterly. It's so damn confusing.

"The job is fine," I muttered as I rolled the computer mouse around in circles absent-mindedly.  _I just wanna know why you're so distant towards me all of a sudden._  I couldn't bring myself to say it. I didn't know why it was bothering me so much. Was it because I thought Kaiba may have thought of me as a potential friend? Was it because I didn't want to believe what Duke had told me about him. I didn't want Kaiba to be a cold and heartless person. Not towards me at least.

"Then what's going on, Caledonia? I told you before that we can't have you compromising your work performance," Kaiba said quietly, unfolding his arms and leaning forward.

My head, no, my heart couldn't take it. I stood up and walked over to the massive window behind Kaiba's desk. I admired the city lights. He was so good looking... And nice, when he wanted to be. The fact my heart was aching made me cringe. Fuck. I was beginning to like Kaiba. It wasn't just a fangirl phase. I was screwed. How could I be falling for someone so soon after my only family died? What the hell?

I heard Kaiba stand up, making me stiffen. I couldn't deal with my feelings then. It wasn't the time. I turned around and put on my best smile. "Sorry about that, Mister Kaiba. Just stuff going on in my head," I explained as he approached me. "Nothing to worry about."

"Is it going to affect your work?" he asked once he stopped near me. His scent wafted around me. I could feel the heat rising to my face.

"I hope not. But, I need to ask something," I said slowly, gauging Kaiba's reaction.

He looked at me for a moment before nodding.

"Um, is it okay if I leave a bit early tomorrow afternoon; I want to hang with Duke and his friends."

I was expecting a flat out 'no'. "If you talk to me about what's going on in that head of yours."

"Uh, okay..."

Kaiba motioned towards the lounge across from my desk. I slowly walked over to it, still confused as to why he was so hell-bent on knowing the inner workings of my messed up head. What was his angle? Maybe he was just concerned about productivity. Not that I actually did much for the company. I was just supposed to make his life easier. I sat down on one end of the lounge and looked down at my lap. I couldn't tell him I thought I liked him. Him being distant seemed like a dodgy topic as well. What about the paper, or the girls at school? Yes. That sounded good.

I slumped into the lounge, but quickly straightened up once I remembered I was still at work. Kaiba sat down unusually close to me, making my heart jump. He wasn't touching me; there was actually a decent sized gap between us. I had just expected him to sit on the other side, as far away from me as possible. Instead, he sat in the middle of the lounge.

"So what's going on?"

I swallowed. "The newspaper reports of us being 'together'... It's causing some drama," I said slowly. I didn't know how to bring up the topic.

"Are reporters harassing you?" Kaiba asked angrily.

"No, no. Just girls at school running a muck. They began rumours before the papers did. The paper just added to their fuel. I mean, really? Us, together? They really know how to string a story together," I rambled, trying to keep my voice steady. I was beginning to panic. I didn't want Kaiba to think the rumours were upsetting me because I wanted them to be true. How he would have been able to come to that conclusion, I didn't know.

Kaiba looked away, as if in thought. "I didn't know if you had seen the paper, I didn't want to you to freak out about being talked about. I didn't think reporters would be game enough to ambush you. How long have the rumours been going around the school?"

"The day I started I heard a couple of girls talking about seeing us together after you offered me the job. They were deciding whether I had tried to get with you. I guess that was when it began," I shrugged, causing Kaiba to look at me in shock.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked lowly.

I frowned. "Why would I? It doesn't concern you. It has no impact on you." I stood up and walked over to my desk, intending on packing up my stuff. I was fully aware that the rumours did concern Kaiba. I knew that it impacted him. Rumours equalled publicity. Good or bad.

"It does if it bothers you," Kaiba spoke from the lounge.

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him. "What? You're not making any sense, Kaiba." I shook my head and pulled my bag off the table. I leaned against the wall and pinched the bridge of my nose. I was going insane. He was driving me up the wall. He's nice to me, then when he opens up, he backs right off and ignores me, then acts like he cares about me.  _Make up your fucking mind!_  I moved off the wall and sighed. I needed to leave. "I've told you what was going on, I'll get your answer tomorrow. I'm going."

Kaiba moved swiftly. One second he was on the lounge, the next he was in front of me. I jumped slightly. "I want you to tell me if something happens," he said quietly.

"Why are you so worried about it?" I whispered, my heart pounding out of my chest. He was so close to me. I was well aware of the blush that was creeping across my cheeks.

"I told you before, I don't want this sort of thing to impact your work," he said, looking me right in the eye. He didn't move away from me like I was expecting him to.

"Still doesn't explain why I need to tell you about it. Just tell me to sort it out, Kaiba, I'm sure that's what you do to your other employees," I argued.

"You're not just another employee, Caledonia!" he shouted, scaring the living daylights out of me.

"Then what the hell am I?" I yelled back with equal force, which was a bad idea.

Kaiba suddenly slammed both hands against the wall, on either side of me, pinning me. A small squeak escaped my throat. His face was right near mine. I could feel his breath on my lips. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what he was doing. It was like a set up to one of those cheesy make out scenes. I quickly looked away and let out a deep breath, my heart pounding wildly. He didn't say anything. He wasn't going to answer me. It would have been hopeless to push the issue. However, I knew it was going to bug me.

"And by the way," I began slowly, trying to control the pitch of my voice. I swallowed nervously. "It's Callie. Caledonia is too formal."

Kaiba gently grabbed hold of my chin and turned my head to look into his deep azure eyes. It was sending shivers down my spine. That situation screamed 'KAIBA LIKES ME'. Was that why I wasn't 'just another employee? But I tried to get that thought out of my head. There was no way. 

"Callie," he whispered, letting the sound dance on his lips. "Then don't call me Sir, or Kaiba. It's Seto."

He was going to let me call him by his first name? As far as I knew, only Mokuba called him by his first name. Duke, his friends and everyone else I had overheard talking about me, had called him 'Kaiba'. To me, it seemed like his first name was something personal, so why was I allowed to use it? My brain went into meltdown.

"Seto..." I murmured. "That'll take some getting used to..."

He smirked. His face seemed like it was drifting steadily closer. I braced my hands against the wall. Why was he being like that? I got my answer when his lips ever so slightly brushed against mine, kick-starting my brain into overdrive. The night in the ally flashed through my mind, making me gasp. I pushed him away and gripped my chest. I squeezed my eyes together and tried to push those thoughts out. I didn't want to relive that for a second time in as many weeks.

The sound of the door opening brought me back to my senses. I glanced over to the office door, where Mokuba was standing, holding a sandwich.

"You two okay?" he asked cautiously, stepping into the room.

I took a deep breath and tried to keep a level head. "Yep! I was just leaving," I said quickly as I legged it over towards Mokuba. "I'll catch you later." I ruffled his hair and ran out the door without looking back.


	7. Chapter 7

I played with my bottom lip in a daze. I closed my eyes and thought back to the day before for the umpteenth time. Kaiba, no, Seto had pinned me against the wall, and kissed me. It was a fleeting brush of the lips, but a kiss nonetheless. I was thankful that Seto had text me and told me not to go to the office, but at the same time, it opened the flood gates to an entirely new thought path. Was he avoiding me? Not that I should have been complaining about it; I didn't want to face him, not after the way I had freaked out.

When Duke picked me up from KaibaCorp after the incident with Seto, he found me sitting in the gutter with my head in my hands. The only thing I said to him when I called from the elevator was 'come get me'. Once we got back to Duke's, I eventually told Duke I just had a flashback to that night. He sat me down and talked about it with me. He knew it was hurting me, but he just wanted me to get better. I had been holding back everything about that night.

The more I talked about it, the more I thought back to the situation with Seto. I had never been kissed by anyone else before. Duke kissed my cheek and forehead all the time, but I hadn't been kissed on the lips by any man. I would have been lying if I said I didn't like the way Seto had me pinned to the wall. How close he was to me. How low his voice was. So why did that night flash through my mind? Was I afraid?

My bedroom door slowly opened with a squeak. I lifted my head slightly so I could see over my chest to see Duke walk into the room with his head down. He had something in his hand. What was he doing? He lifted his head up and swore loudly while gripping his chest.

"Holy shit, Cal. I didn't know you were still here. Why aren't you with Kaiba?" he asked while breathing heavily.

I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair. "He didn't want me to come in. Mustn't have anything for me to do," I said, shrugging. I didn't like keeping things from Duke, but I imagined Duke wouldn't have been too thrilled about hearing that Seto kissed me. I was pretty sure he would have freaked.

"So you've been hiding out in here all morning, in your pyjamas?" Duke questioned with a raised eyebrow as he put whatever he was holding behind his back. He walked over and sat on the side of the bed. "You're a weirdo."

I looked down at my oversized pale pink tee shirt which covered my grey shorts and shrugged. "Well I have no intention of going anywhere until later and I thought you might have wanted time to yourself. Why did you come in here anyway?"

Duke looked down before showing me what he had behind his back. It was a small white box with a blue lid. He held it out for me to take. "I was going to leave these in here for you. I saw them and I thought they were your kind of thing. They're your birthday present."

"But my birthday is still a week away," I said, giving him a curious look.

"Yeah, well I wanted you to have it early." He gestured for me to take it.

I took the box and opened it. Two white gold stud earrings were placed neatly in the box. Attached to each one, was a jade green dragon wing.  _They look expensive,_  I though as I carefully pulled one out and held it up. The dragon wing glistened slightly as it twisted in the light pouring in from my window.

"You shouldn't have bought them, Duke. How much were they?" I questioned, placing the earring back in the box.

"Don't worry about it, Cal. Now while I've got you here, there's actually someone I want you to meet," Duke said cautiously.

"Another one of your friends, Devlin?" I joked while wondering why he sounded nervous.

"No..." he trailed off. "My girlfriend."

I looked at him for a moment, figuring out if he was mucking around. When his facial expression didn't change, a grin formed on my face. I got up on my knees and sat down on my legs beside him. "Aww, Duke! Why didn't you tell me? Does she go to our school? Why haven't I met her yet?"

"I was so worried about getting you settled and making sure that you were okay, it just flew over my head," Duke said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "It's funny because part of the reason she's come to Domino is to meet you."

"Where is she from exactly?"

"America."

"You're in a long distance relationship?" I blurted out. It became clear to me how much I missed out on while I was in Australia. I wondered what else I didn't know about Duke's life.

"Yeah, it's not like it's always been like that. Dad moved us over there not long after we stopped talking," Duke explained, indicating to himself and me. "After a bit, dad left with some woman he met and left me a bit of money. That was when I began developing Dungeon Dice Monsters. I wanted to come back to Japan and I tried to get Hannah to come with me, but everything she has is over in the States, so I left and set up the shop over here with the money."

"So you don't know where your dad is?" I asked, placing my hand on his arm.

"Nope. Haven't heard from his at all. I don't really care. Being back here made me realise how much I missed having you around, so I called your mum to organise a surprise visit." He said that last part carefully, as not to upset me. I was more concerned about the surprise visit and his girlfriend. "But when I called, Kaden answered. I thought he was your mum's boyfriend or something. When I asked for Amelia, he went real quiet and he told me what happened. I wanted to go over for the funeral, but it was the next day, I knew I wouldn't make it."

I swallowed back my tears. Hearing Duke talk about my mum made me heart ache, but I wanted to know more about him trying to contact me. "Why didn't I hear about you calling?"

"Kaden didn't want you to know because you were going through enough. In hindsight, not flying over seems like it was for the best. Seeing me probably would have been another shock to your system. I don't think I could have done that to you. Kaden kept in contact with me, told me what was happening. I told him that you probably needed a break and that you were more than welcome to come over for a bit."

Kaden had told me to give Duke a call and ask if I could go over then because he probably missed me, and I never really questioned how Kaden even knew of Duke. I was too spaced out because of mum's death. She had told me to contact Duke as well.

"When you said you were coming over, I told Hannah, and she got a bit...paranoid. She knew of you before I told her you were coming over but she was still worried there was something between us-"

"Duke, are you in here?" a soft, feminine voice with a strong American accent called from the other side of my door.

"She's here?" I whispered desperately as I jumped off the bed.

"Yeah, I'm in here!" Duke called out before turning his attention back to me. "It's okay Cal, I'm sure you two will get on fine."

"I'm in my pyjamas, Devlin!" I snarled as my bedroom door began to open. I had no idea why I was panicking. Maybe I was worried about Duke's girlfriend running with the assumption that there was something going on between Duke and myself. Standing there in a massive tee that looked like I had nothing on underneath wouldn't have gone well for us. I couldn't let that happen to him. I hoisted my shirt up and tucked part of it into my shorts.

"I thought you were only putting the earrings on her bedside, what's-oh..."

The door was open fully and in the doorway stood a girl who was about my height, with long natural blonde hair and the prettiest amber eyes. She was in a short cream ruffle dress with a black piece of material across her chest. Black stockings and flats completed her outfit. She was gorgeous.

"Sorry, Hannah," Duke said as he stood upside me. "Callie was hiding in here and scared me." He walked over to Hannah and grabbed her hand. The look he had in his eyes when he gazed at her made me smile. He was happy. "Han, I'd like you to meet Callie," Duke introduced as he guided Hannah towards me. "Cal, this is Hannah."

I had to make a good first impression. I gave her a nice smile and held my hand out. "It's nice to meet you, Hannah."

"You too, Callie," Hannah said with a bright smile as she took my hand and shook it. She must have been trying to impress me; her smile didn't fade when she let go of my hand. That, or she was just a happy person. "I've never heard an Australian accent in person. It sounds so cool!"

I gave a sheepish laugh. "I've never had someone complement my accent. In all honesty, I wasn't aware I even had one."

"It's quite prominent. I like it."

"Oh, thank you," I laughed. I wanted to complement her accent as well, but it would have sounded weird. So I told her I liked her dress, which wasn't a lie. It was cute.

Duke seemed relieved. "We're about to head out to lunch, would you like to come with us, Cal?"

I frowned. "Oh, no, I couldn't. I'd just be a third wheel. You two go and enjoy your time together."

"How about I get Téa to come? Will it make you feel more comfortable?"

 

Turned out Téa was hanging out with Yugi so she couldn't go with us to lunch, so Duke invited the next person on his imaginary list.

Joey seemed almost too excited when Duke pulled up out the front of his unit complex. He legged it towards the car and leaped into the back, next to me. Hannah was riding shot gun while Duke drove, his hand resting on Hannah's thigh. I had never seen Duke like that with someone. He was always close to me, to the point people would think we were together, but to see him be like that with someone else, gave me an idea of how we looked. I didn't love Duke like that, he was like my brother, he was my best friend, but I felt a pang of jealousy run through my body. I couldn't even have someone kiss me without freaking out.

"Is she nice?" Joey whispered from beside me as Duke drove into town. The smell of his deodorant drifted around my nostrils. It was nice. He was in a pair of dark jeans with a white tee shirt and dark blue jacket.

"Yeah," I whispered back. "Unless she's just putting on an act to keep Duke happy," I added.

"Do you think she'd do that?" Joey asked.

"Nah, she seems genuine," I decided.

"Anyway, aren't you meant to be working for Kaiba today?"

I shook my head. "He didn't want me to go in today."

Any mention of Seto and my mind went back to that damn kiss. I was trying so hard to not think about it. I just hoped I didn't hear or see anything remotely related to Seto for the rest of the day. I was already dreading the next day, that was if Seto wanted me to go in.

I hadn't taken any notice of where Duke was driving to so when he pulled up out the front of a small cafe, I looked around, and instantly my heart dropped. We were across from KaibaCorp. Great.  _Really, Duke? You couldn't go anywhere else?_

"Okay, let's go!" Duke announced, taking the keys out of the ignition and swinging his door open. He climbed out and pulled the seat forward so I could crawl out. Joey followed.

I swung my hair behind me and let out a heavy sigh.

"You look good, Callie," Joey said in my ear, causing me to jump.

I spun around and gave him a shy smile. "Thank you, Joey," I giggled shyly. I hadn't intended on dressing up to impress anyone. I was in a denim button-up vest with black short shorts accompanied with black thigh high socks and my black flats. It was a nice day but I still wore the trench coat Duke had bought me. "You don't look so bad yourself."

Joey gave me a cheesy grin. "I aim to please!"

"Oh, really?" I questioned as we followed Duke and Hannah into the cafe.

It was quaint. Booths ran along the front windows, and four two-seater round tables were in the middle of the floor. There was also two booths on the left hand wall. The counter was towards the back of the shop. The shop was filled with the aroma of coffee, cakes and toasted sandwiches. The latter smelt quite lovely. There were a few other people seated around the place, but I didn't take much notice.

"On a double date with the new, mysterious girl. I have to make a good impression," Joey said as Duke wandered up to the counter, Hannah hot on his tail.

"I don't think Hannah's that mysterious. She seems quite open. Why are you trying to impress her, anyway? She's Duke's missus," I whispered, motioning towards the booth just behind us, by the door.

"It's not Hannah I'm trying to impress," Joey stated simply as he followed my signal and took a seat at the booth.

I stared at him, slightly dumbfounded as Duke appeared at my side and slid into the booth across from Joey, menus in hand. Hannah scooted in beside him. I shook my head and took a seat beside Joey. Duke handed out the menus before opening his. I opened mine while discreetly looking around the booth. The three of them were buried deep in their menus. In the centre of the table were a couple of magazines. I decided to take that opportunity to analyse what Joey had said.

He said he was trying to impress me. Why on Earth would he want to do that? I wasn't the new, mysterious girl. I'd been there over two weeks; the shiny new toy phase had come and gone. Did he like me? Did he just want to show me he was a person who knew how to dress nice? He didn't disappoint. He did know how to dress. To me, it was like a bad boy look. Just like Seto's trademark trench coat, black top and slacks, brown hair, blue eyes-

I roughly shook my head. No. I couldn't think about him.

"So what's everyone ordering?" Duke asked, dragging me from my thoughts.

"I'm gunna get a large milkshake and a muffin and a club sandwich," Joey announced as he slammed the menu on the table.

"I might get the club too," Duke said, placing his menu down a little more gently than Joey.

"Do you want me to go up and order? I haven't decided yet," I offered as I slid my trench coat off my shoulders. I assumed Hannah had already made her choice.

Everyone agreed as I pulled my phone out to make a note of what they wanted. I pressed the home button and my heart jumped when I saw a text from Seto. I didn't read it and opened up the 'notes' app. Probably just telling me to not worry about going in the next day.

Once I made sure I had everyone's orders, I grabbed the menus and shimmied out of the booth. I wandered over to the counter where a brunette greeted me before asking what I was ordering. I held up my phone and recited what was on the screen.

"Right, so, there's a club sandwich and coke, another club with a large caramel shake and a choc chip muffin, a chicken salad sandwich with a flat white, one sugar and..."

I didn't know what I wanted. I looked up at the giant menu behind the girl. I had wanted a toasted sandwich.

"Hurry up, Cal!" Duke called from the booth in mock irritation.

I grinned sheepishly at the woman in front of me. "I'm sorry."

"Oh it's not drama. Take your time," she smiled as I slipped my phone into my bra.

Maybe a focaccia would be what I wanted.

"You're the girl that was hanging around Seto Kaiba, right?" the woman said suddenly. "In the newspaper?"

"Huh?" I said stupidly, looking at her. I knew full well what she said, I just didn't know how to answer. "I'm just his personal assistant. That's it."

The girl gave me a look which clearly indicated she didn't believe me. She glanced over to the side of the cafe before looking back at me with a small smile. "Oh, my apologies, miss."

"I'll just get a hawaiian focaccia and a coke, please."

I paid for our food and took a table number. I kept my head down as I walked back to the booth. People actually paid attention to the newspaper? I wondered if that kind of article had reared its ugly head before. Seto had never seemed annoyed by it. Maybe he was used to it.

"Oh, shit, sorry," Duke said as I placed the number on the table. I looked at him slightly confused. "I meant to give you money."

"Don't worry, I got it," I sighed as I plopped onto the bench. I glanced at Hannah, who was reading a newspaper. Where did she get that from? I tried to see what she was reading without bringing attention to myself. I couldn't see anything.

"So what exactly are we doing tonight?" Joey asked as he reached up over his head, stretching.

"See if we can get into the nightclub down the road, if not, we'll go to the exhibtion," Duke said casually.

"What? A nightclub?" I asked, dumbfounded. "Isn't the legal age twenty? How can you possibly think we'll be able to get in? I'm sorry, Devlin, but I can't pass for twenty."

"Cal, relax," Duke said reassuringly. "We've done it before. And if you're with us, you should be right, they won't ask you for ID. Hannah's fine though. She's older than all of us."

I looked at Hannah with a raised eyebrow. "You're older than Duke?"

"Yeah," Hannah said sheepishly as she looked towards Duke. "I'm twenty."

Hannah was two years older than Duke? She sure didn't look it. I didn't know Duke liked older girls.  _Oh, I could have fun with this._  When she wasn't around, of course.

The woman who served me at the counter walked over shortly after Hannah's little confession and handed out our drinks. Our food wouldn't be too far away. We thanked her before falling into silence again. I glanced around the cafe absent-mindedly. Nothing interesting was to be seen, until I caught glimpse of someone. On the side wall, there was a girl sitting at the first booth. She had long brown hair and seemed to be quite focused on her conversation. Because of my position, I couldn't see the person opposite her.  _Where have I seen her before?_  I took a sip of my coke.

"So, how long are you stayin', Hannah?" Joey asked, drawing my attention back to the table.

"Oh, um, only until the day after tomorrow," Hannah responded. She sounded nervous. I watched Duke eye her carefully.

"I'm sure Duke will let you stay longer," I piped up. "And I don't mind, not that my opinion would matter anyway, I'm only a visitor myself."

"You're more than a visitor, Cal," Duke shot at me. "Don't pull that shit. You live with me."

"You make is sound like a bad thing, Devlin."

Duke rolled his eyes, fully aware that I was only mucking around. I let out laugh before turning my attention to Joey. I knew the answer to the question I was about to ask, but I wanted a conversation started with him.

"So, you got yourself a woman?"

Joey, who had been taking big sips from his straw, nearly choked on his shake. He tried to compose himself while me, Duke and Hannah had a good chuckle. Once he was sure he wasn't going to die, he turned to me.

"Where did that come from?" he asked with a strained look on his face.

"Well, I wanna get to know you, and what better way than to question your relationship status?" I said as I shrugged.

"Sounds like you wanna know cause you're interested," Duke stated.

"Shut it," I snapped, pointing at Duke but not taking my eyes off Joey. I knew it must have seemed like I was interested in Joey, and I was, kind of. I wanted to get to know him.

"Not really," Joey said, rubbing the back of his neck as footsteps approached the table. Plates were placed on the table in front of each of us.

I glanced at my food. It did look yum. I looked at Joey's sandwich and gaped. That thing was massive. "How are you two gunna eat those?" I asked before beginning to sip on my coke.

"We're guys," Joey said. "We've got-"

"You're with Seto Kaiba?" Hannah asked loudly, cutting Joey off and causing me to cough up my coke. A few people around the cafe, including the girl I had been observing, looked towards our booth.

Hannah pushed the paper she had been reading towards me. The article was a slap in the face. I tried to hide my face as I wiped the coke that trickled down my chin.

"Why would you be with that jerk?" Joey asked beside me. He sounded kind of hurt.

I looked around the table and shook my head. "I'm not with him. You heard the girls around school Joey, and you know they're full of it."

"Yeah, that's what Duke said. But why would it have been published in the newspaper?"

Why was he so worried about it? I didn't want to be interrogated about some rumours.

"What do you want me to say, Joey? I've told you I'm not with him. And why are you so worried about it anyway? It's not like we have a thing," I snapped angrily. As soon as I registered what I had said, and I saw Joey's face drop, I bit my lip. Where did that come from anyway? What made me say it? "I-I didn't mean-"

Joey growled, cutting me off, as he ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair. He looked sad. "Forget it, Callie. Do you wanna let me out?"

I looked away as I shuffled out, allowing Joey to climb out.

"Joey, I didn't mean to..." I trailed off as Joey brushed me off and walked towards the opposite corner of the cafe where I saw a sign indicating the toilets were in that direction.

Duke and Hannah stayed quiet as I leaned against the table and looked up at the ceiling. Joey was upset about what I had said, I was sure of it. Everything was pointing to Joey liking me. What was I supposed to do about it? I didn't even know what to think. I had Seto kiss me the night before, and then Joey imply that he was trying to impress me. Regardless of the turmoil in my mind, I had to admit to myself, it was kind of nice having two people like me, assuming Seto actually liked me.

"Shit," I muttered before I pulled my phone out. I decided I may as well look at the text Seto had sent me. I needed to get a hold of myself. Stop freaking out about the kiss, and Seto in general.

I took a deep breath, and opened the text.

_Are you on a double date with Wheeler?_

He could see me? Where was he? I looked around the coffee shop before my eyes landed on the familiar woman. It was then I remembered where I had seen her. And my heart dropped.

She was the girl who had walked out of Seto's office just before I had my interview. She was seated across from Seto. I swallowed nervously. It looked like there was some paperwork spread out in front of Seto. Maybe they were in a meeting. I felt a little better. That was until I watched that girl reach over and stroke Seto's hand. When he didn't move it I bit my lip. He was with her? Surely he couldn't have been with her. He kissed me. Was he the cheating type?

"I'll be back," I muttered to Duke and Hannah as I pushed off the table. I was fairly certain they didn't hear me. I walked towards the toilets. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Seto look towards me. A shiver shot down my spine. My heart leaped into my throat. I felt like I was going to cry. I quickened my pace and practically dove through the ladies toilets door.

Running over to the basins, I turned the tap on and splashed my face. Why did I want to cry? Who cared if Seto was with some girl? As long as he was happy. But he kissed me. Didn't that count for something? Deep down I knew it meant something to me, and I hated it. I was getting too attached to that man. I knew I wanted Seto to like me, but I wasn't going to actually admit it. And why did he ask if I was on a double date? Why did it concern him? I didn't understand him at all. Did he like me?

At least I knew Joey liked me. There was no denying that. I liked him as a friend. He was funny, caring, a bit doughy but that just added to his charm. I began to feel bad again about what I had said to him. It was uncalled for. I could make it up to him. I just had to think of how.

As I stood in front of the mirror, I heard a familiar song being played over the speaker system. I began to hum, which made me calm down a bit.

 _You made me cry so many times and that never did change_  
But looking back I'm glad I cried even though it still hurts  
Because when you'd apologise  
You'd make the sweetest face  
And you'd pull me into your embrace...

I wandered out of the toilets with my head down.

"It is you!"

My head shot up in shock to find Joey standing near me. He had a big grin on his face.

"Uhh, of course it's me. Did you go loopy?" I asked with a look of amusement.

"I didn't know you could sing!" Joey stated, ignoring my question.

I was singing? I didn't even realise. Was I concerned that someone had heard me? Maybe. I hadn't really sung in front of anyone since before I left Australia.

"I didn't think it was note worthy," I smiled. He seemed happy. Was he not mad at me anymore? "Are you still mad at me?"

Joey's smile faded. "Nah, I overreacted. I know you're not with Kaiba. Sorry, Callie," he said quietly, hanging his head.

I lightly touched his arm. "You don't need to apologise. But, let's move away from the toilets."

Joey lifted his head and nodded before we made our way back to the booth. I willed myself to not look towards Seto and his date. I wondered if I should have responded to his text. But then I had no idea what I would have said. I could have just said 'no'. Because I really wasn't on a double date. Well, it wasn't one to me. But I remembered Joey saying something about being on a double date with the new mysterious girl. Maybe it was a double date.

"Hey, Duke, did you know Callie could sing?" Joey announced loudly before we even reached the table.

"Joey!" I hissed through gritted teeth. He ignored me.

"Of course I did," Duke said casually as we reached the table. "How do you know?"

"She was singing in the toilet."

"Jeez, can't even go into the toilet in peace, Wheeler," I scolded playfully.

"It's not hard to hear your voice, Cal. It carries."

I rolled my eyes. Duke loved to talk about my singing voice. When we were younger, he told me my voice was the best he had ever heard, and that I was going to be famous one day. He certainly was delusional.

I nudged Joey towards the seat and he slid in. I followed him and eyed my food. It was probably cold. "Now, I don't think we should attempt the nightclub, so what's the deal with this other thing? You said exhibition?"

"It's for duelists," Duke began. "We don't know who's hosting it, or what it's actually for. We thought it would be fun. You never know, it might be for friendly battles."

"I've dueled once in my life, and it was against you. I'm not doing it again," I said as I watched a figure approach me. It was the girl who was with Seto. As she walked past me, her bag swung out slightly and his me in the shoulder rather hard. I grunted and looked over my shoulder at her. She never looked back.

"What was that about?" Joey wondered.

"I don't know but fuck her bag was heavy."

Was it intentional? I doubted it. Maybe she didn't realise she had hit me.

"You don't have to duel, Cal. You can just come along and watch everyone else. It'll be fun. Plus, you can see Joey get his ass whooped," Duke said as Joey went red.

"Grr what? I'm not gunna lose to anyone!"

I laughed. Maybe it would be fun to see everyone in their element. Duke didn't duel often, but he was good. I picked up half of my focaccia, eager to finally eat. I was about to take a bit when a voice spoke up.

"I'd like a word."

I stopped mid bite and looked up at Seto, who was standing right beside me. The kiss flashed through my mind and I placed my sandwich down.

"Why can't I eat?" I said to myself as Joey spoke up.

"What do you want, Kaiba? She's with us." He sounded jealous.

"And Callie works for me. Now pipe down, mutt."

"Really? Don't call him that, Seto," I growled as I stood up. How could he call Joey something like that? It really irritated me. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk in private," Seto said quietly as he eyed Duke, Joey and Hannah.

I didn't want to ditch them just to speak with my boss. I wasn't even sure I wanted to be alone with him. I sighed and looked at Duke for help.

"Go on, we'll wait for you."

Well that helped. I sighed loudly and let Seto lead me away from the table. He walked towards the back of the cafe, away from everyone. I looked behind us and realised no one could see us at all. He did say he wanted to talk to me in private.

My heart began pounding so I pressed my back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. I was somewhat alone with him again, like I had been the night before. Is that what he wanted to talk to me about?

"You never answered my text."

Was that all he wanted?

"I didn't think it was of any importance. I mean, what I do with Joey in my own time is my business," I snipped as I glanced at him. I was a little bit angry. My personal life had nothing to do with him.

I didn't think Seto liked that response. All it took was a second and I was in the same position I had been in the day before. Seto had me pinned.

"Answer me," he growled.

His face was inches from mine. I was breathing heavily, although I tried to conceal it. I glanced down at his lips and licked my own. I didn't know whether too answer him or make another snide comment. I couldn't think straight. The main thing on my mind, much to my surprise, was his lips on mine.

I made a slight noise in my throat. My heart felt like it was about to smash through my rib cage. "Uhh..."

I remembered the girl he had been sitting with. His girlfriend. Why did he care if he had a girlfriend? Why was he so close to me? This was wrong.

I finally got my wind back and said quietly, "why does it matter, Seto? You have a girlfriend."

Seto moved his head back slightly and looked at me in shock. "What? I don't have a girlfriend."

I shook my head. "Don't lie to me. I saw you with her." I ducked out under Seto's arm. "I need to get back to my friends. I'll see you tomorrow." I walked away.


	8. Chapter 8

After my little run-in with Seto, I went back to the booth and sat down. Shortly after, Seto walked out of the cafe. He looked pissed. Duke had asked what he wanted and I just brushed it off.

Four hours later and I was back in my room, sitting on the end of my bed, in a towel. The events of the day swimming around my mind, and I was trying to make sense of them.

Seto asked if Joey and I were on a double date and felt the need to ask me in person when I didn't respond to his text. Should I have just told Seto that it kind of was? Going by the way he had been acting, it would have pissed him off. But then I didn't think it was a double date. I was just having lunch with friends, two of them happened to be a couple. Seto had a girlfriend anyway so what would it have mattered. He said he didn't have one, but she held his hand. I saw it clear as day. Then she barged me with her handbag. Something was going on. Or I could have been reading too much into it.

 I sighed angrily and stood up. I let my towel fall before I strutted over to the suit case I had been living out of and began pulling things out.  

Joey said he wanted to impress me on our supposed double date. He was so excited to come to lunch with us. He went all weird when he thought Seto and I were together and stormed off. It suggested that he did like me. He said he didn't have a girlfriend, well, 'not really'. Maybe he was kind of, maybe seeing someone. Maybe he was thinking about asking someone out. Could it have been me? I doubted it. I really needed to stop sounding so obnoxious. As if two guys had the hots for me two weeks after I arrived in Domino.

I quickly pulled my clothes on and looked at myself in the mirror. I had already done my hair before I walked out of the bathroom. It was pulled up into an incredibly messy bun that had been teased to the shit house. Various strands had been pulled out completely so they fell down my back. My fringe was swept to the side with a bobby pin holding it in place and a simple black and dirty lavender clip-in bow was just behind it. The deep purple off the shoulder top I had on hugged my figure and finished just above my belly button, which left a considerable gap between it and the top of my black jeans. The black sleeve that I never took off my arm looked funny, but I didn't care. I was determined to make that night a good one. No dramas. I was just going out to have fun.

"You ready yet?" Duke called from the other side of my door.

"Yeah, just gotta put my shoes on," I replied as I spun around in search of something comfortable. "Ah." I ran over and hastily slipped on the pair of black wedges that were sitting near the wardrobe doors. I grabbed my phone off the bed and ran to the door. I swung it open and came face to face with Duke.

"Couldn't even dress up a little?" I said, eyeing him up and down with a smirk and I shoved my phone in my pocket. He was in his normal attire.

Duke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, Cal. Have you seen yourself? You're not dressed up, except your hair."

"It's better than what I normally wear. And Google comes in handy when you don't want to wear your hair out," I laughed.

We walked out into the lounge room where Hannah was seated. When she stood up, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

She was in a strappy teal blue dress that ended just above her knees with filigree detailing around the bodice which flared out slightly at the waist. Her hair was braided loosely and brought around over her shoulder. Her make-up was simple, which made her eyes really pop. It may not have been much, but her whole outfit made her glow.

"Wow, you look so pretty," I said to Hannah as I wished I could run back into my room and not come out.

"Thanks," Hannah responded sheepishly. "I feel overdressed."

"Not at all. You look amazing."

Hannah smiled at me before picking up her little silver clutch. "Let's go then."

The hall was crowded People of all ages were scattered around the large round tables that were placed around the hall. The tables had dinnerware on them, about eight to a table. Was there going to be a dinner?

"Seems a bit elaborate," Tea commented from beside me as she, Joey, Duke, Hannah, Yugi and myself stood near the entry.

"I'm still trying to figure out what this whole thing is about," I muttered while adjusting my purple mask. "If it's a duelist exhibition, why is it set out for a dinner party?"

"I'm sure someone will announce something soon," Yugi said.

And sure enough, someone approached the lone microphone on the stage at the front of the hall. They tapped on it and the hall fell silent.

"Good evening everyone," the guy announced. "I'm sure you're all wondering why you have been invited here, and you will find out shortly. But, for now, will you all take a seat and we shall get dinner underway."

Once tea was over and done with, everyone was asked to stand while the tables were moved out of the hall. They were replaced with what looked like massage tables around the edge of the room. What the hell were those for?

"Okay, people!" the man from before called from the stage. "Time for you all to find out what you're here for. As you can see, numerous beds have been placed around the room. This whole evening has been planned for you, the best duelists around Domino, as well as KaibaCorp's esteemed business partners, to beta test KaibaCorp's latest product-"

KaibaCorp. Would that mean Seto was wandering around somewhere?

"-A full dive system that will allow the user to duel anyone around the world. It's an open world style game. I'm not going to ramble on about it. I'll let you experience it. You will be able to pick your own avatar, looks, clothing, it's fully customisable. Also, there will be music and you are free to dance and do whatever while not using the system."

The people around us clapped. I looked towards Yugi, Joey and Duke. They looked shocked.

"Sounds like Kaiba's virtual reality world we saved him from," Joey said.

"Huh?" I asked, curious about that story.

"It's a long story," Yugi said. "We'll explain another day."

I nodded. I thought they were just excited to test out the new dive gear.

"Do you two wanna come over and dance with me while the boys go play?" Hannah asked Tea and myself.

"I think we're too late," Duke commented, glancing around the room.

Nearly everyone was lined up around the numerous game stations around the room, desperate for a go. They guys wouldn't have been able to have a go for a little while.

"Let's all go have a dance then," I said before walking over to the centre of the hall. The others followed me.

The music had been quite low, I assumed it was because no one was really dancing. It soon turned up once I reached the middle of the room and spun around to look at the others. I started swaying my hips to the music.

Within minutes, more people had joined us.

Despite trying my hardest to enjoy my dancing, I kept thinking to the possibility of Seto being there. My eyes darted around the room in the hope of spotting him. But why did I want to see him? Did I like to look at him? Maybe. Did I want to be near him again. Probably. Why was I suddenly infatuated with him? Maybe I just wanted to find out why he was so worried about the possibility of me being on a date with Joey. Yeah. But I wasn't even sure I would approach him.

A tap on my shoulder caught my attention. I looked around quickly to find Joey standing beside me.

"Wanna dance?"

I looked around worriedly. Duke and Hannah were still dancing together, as well as Tea and Yugi. They were bopping around to the music not far from us.

"Okay."

Joey grabbed my hand and pulled me around so I was facing him. He took hold of my other hand and started to sway to the music. I glanced around me, slightly nervous. I never liked dancing around people. I always felt like I couldn't dance, so in my mind I looked like this weirdo who danced like a twit, just trying to fit in.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly began to sway my hips in time to the music. I had to stop worrying about everything. I travelled to Domino to relax. Duke and his friends were trying to help me acomplish that.

"So, what are you gunna do when Duke leaves?" Joey asked casually as he lifted our arms and spun me around.

Once I came face to face with him again, I laughed. "Who knows, I'll probably go with them. There's no point staying here, unless you guys are planning on doing something?" I answered.

"No, I mean when he goes back to America with Hannah."

I stopped dancing and stared at Joey. "He's leaving?" Duke was leaving, and he didn't tell me? What was I meant to do? Just go back to Australia? He knew I wanted to stay for a while. Was he just gunna leave me to fend for myself?

"Oh, damn. He didn't tell you. Shit, I'm sorry, Callie," Joey said desperately as he squeezed my hand.

I was mad. Upset. I ripped my hand away from Joey and turned on my heel. I spotted Duke leaning in to kiss Hannah. I puffed out my chest and made a beeline for them, my head reeling.

Duke must have sensed I was coming for him because he looked my way with a smile on his face. That smile was gone in a flash. He whispered something to Hannah just as I reached him. He then grabbed my hand and dragged me away from everyone.

_He must know that I know._

We stopped just under an alcove near the stage, away from everyone. There was a hallway behind me leading to a set of double doors which opened up to the carpark. Rest rooms were along the corridor.

"Callie-"

"When were you gunna tell me?" I asked quietly, looking towards the floor.

"Tonight, when we got home. I meant to tell you before but I-"

"This isn't fair, Duke. I came here to get away from Australia, to spend time with you," I began, tears threatening to fall. "And now you're leaving me?" I gripped to top of my head tightly as I looked down, biting down on my lip. "You're just gunna leave me here by myself?"

"No-"

"He's here, Devlin. And you're gunna leave me here with him?"

"Cal, he can't get you-"

"I don't care!" I yelled at Duke, my tears finally flowing freely from my eyes. "Mum's gone, then Kaden tells me to come see you, and now you're leaving? What the fuck?" I took a deep breath as Duke reached out in an attempt to touch me. I jerked away.

"Cal-"

"Don't. Go back to Hannah, I need to think things through."

I waved him off before turning on my heel. I started walking towards the toilets.

"Im allowed to have a life, Callie! I'm not gunna put my life on hold just to babysit you!"

I stopped dead. My blood ran cold. Babysit me? I spun around and glared at him. He matched it.

"I don't need you to babysit me! I'll go back to Australia and let you live your damn life! Sorry for fucking intruding!"

I stormed off down the hallway and burst through the toilet door. Good thing it was empty. I leaned against the vanity and took a deep breath. Duke was allowed to live his own life. It was selfish of me to run him on a guilt trip for leaving with his girlfriend. I still couldn't help but feel a little rejected. I looked up at my reflection and my lip trembled. My eyeliner had run and was smudged slightly under my eyes. Where I had gripped my hair was slightly pulled up, making my messy bun loose. Looking at my hair in that state, reminded me of mum one night when she came home from a night out with some new friends. She was so drunk, she practically fell through the door. I had to get her upstairs and put her to bed without being a vomit target. I never resented her for that. She never went out and had fun, I had to pretty much push her out the door to get her to go.

I smiled at the memory, while more tears fell from my eyes. I let out a sob before taking a shaky breath in an attempt to calm myself. It didn't help.

"I miss her so much..." I muttered to myself before reaching over aimlessly to grab some paper towel. Once I found it, I ripped some out and tried to tidy up my face, not that it mattered; the tears wouldn't stop.

I needed fresh air. Not worrying about my hair, I threw the paper towel in the bin as I walked back out into the hallway. I semi-jogged over to the double doors and pushed them open. I wasn't expecting the rush of freezing cold air. I swore as I stepped out. There were high garden beds on either side of the doors, being held up by brick retaining walls. I plopped down on the edge of the garden and shivered. The shock of the cold air has made me stop crying for a moment. I looked down at my arm and I began to pull off the sleeve that covered all my pain, sorrow, regrets.

I traced the various scars on my arm absentmindely. Mum's passing had taken a massive toll on me. My body was dead. I didn't care about anything, I didn't feel anything. All I could think about was mum. Cutting was the only way I could feel and think about something else. Watching blood pour out made me feel alive. Kaden had tried his best to help me, but he could only do so much, and I knew I was wearing him out.

Being in Domino with Duke had make me feel so much better. I had other things to focus on. Trying to fit in at a new school (despite the rumours), making new friends (who I had grown very fond of), and starting a new job with a man who puzzled me yet intregued me. He was making me feel things I had never felt. It scared me, but I wanted more. My reaction to him kissing me was still sending me through a loop. I mentally kicked myself for pushing him away. I couldn't understand his actions towards me as of late, especially when everyone else made him out to be an ass. Why was he nice to me? Why was I special? It was stupid to think of such stupid things. I was making it out to be something bigger than it was. Besides, he had a girlfriend.

I wiped my eyes and let out a laboured breath. That was when I became aware of someone sitting next to me, taking a hold of my left hand.

"This is why you wear that sleeve?"

I quickly snatched my hand away and jumped up. I looked towards where I was seated, only to be met with a white button up blouse and blue tie. I looked up into Seto's sapphire eyes. They held so much worry.

It wasn't a good time. I couldn't face him at that moment. I roughly pulled my sleeve back up my arm and quickly walked around Seto, only to have him grasp my hand gently.

"What's wrong?"

I stopped and hung my head. "It doesn't concern you, Seto."

Seto pulled me back and spun me around, he gripped my arms firmly, but not so hard as to cause pain. He gazed at me for the longest time, as if he was debating whether or not to say something.

"Did Devlin do something to you?"

"What? No, it's not his fault. They're my problems. You don't need to put yourself into them," I snapped as my eyes filled with tears. Why was he trying to find out my problems. It frustrated me so much. I thought of having to leave my job to go back to Australia. I didn't want to leave. Maybe it was time to tell him of my resignation. But the more I looked at him, the more I wanted to feel his lips on mine. What was going on with me?

"Look," he sighed suddenly, before letting go of me. I wanted to take a step back, but I stayed rooted to the spot. "I wanted to talk to you about the other night."

He wanted to talk about that kiss. I swallowed nervously. "Yeah, I'm sorry for freaking out and pushing you. I suppose it's a good thing, though. Right? I mean. You wouldn't want to cheat on your girlfriend."

"I told you, I don't have a girlfriend," Seto growled.

"I saw you with her. That brown haired girl at the cafe," I said stubbornly, folding my arms.

"She's a representative of Chrome Industries," Seto sighed. "I met with her to discuss final preparations for this beta test. They had a role in the development."

I thought back to my first shift with Seto. He had asked me to research Chrome Industries. They focused on virtual reality. Why Seto was he worried about them holding too many of KaibaCorp's shares, he was working with them?

I looked towards the garden bed. "She was holding your hand," I muttered.

I was letting my jealousy show. I had to stop before Seto realised.

"I didn't notice," Seto said simply.

Yeah, bullshit.

"If you say so."

"So why did you freak out?"

"It's none of your business."

"Caledonia."

"Mister Kaiba."

Seto glared at me. "You have problems, you know that?"

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Everyone has problems."

"Not everyone cuts their arm open," he retorted.

"Not everyone has to deal with what goes on in my head," I said through gritted teeth. I walked back to my spot on the wall and popped down. "Mum's always on my mind, her death will haunt me forever, it was my fault," I began. I had no idea why I was telling Seto about it. I kept telling myself to shut up, but I kept going. "Being here has been so beneficial to me, I'm the happiest I've been in months, I have Duke and his friends to thank for that. And you as well, Seto. But now Duke's going to America with his girlfriend in a few days and I'm gunna have to go back to Australia because I'm terrified he's gunna get out and come for me again."

I suddenly felt something warm cover my shoulders. Seto had taken his coat off and given it to me. I snuggled into it and took in the scent of his cologne as Seto sat down next to me.

"Whose going to come for you?" he asked.

It was then I realised what I had said. What was I meant to say? I looked at my feet. "Nothing. Forget I said it."

Seto grabbed hold of my chin gently and turned my head to look at him. His eyes were hard, but they held an emotion I couldn't put my finger on. "Did someone hurt you?"

I closed my eyes in a pathetic attempt to stop crying, yet again. I moved away from Seto's hand, only to be pulled against him. My eyes shot open as he held me. His hold was firm. I didn't think he was going to let me go in a hurry. I gripped his shirt and let my tears flow. I may not have known the man holding me that well, but he was the comfort I needed at that moment.

"No one will hurt you again, Callie," he whispered, more to himself than anything.

I looked up at Seto with wide eyes. Why was he being like that? He cupped my cheek softly and wiped under my eye with his thumb. I leaned into his touch. This side of Seto was new to me, I wasn't aware he even had a soft side. I liked it. His face steadily drew closer to mine. Was he going to kiss me again? Well, I wasn't going to let my past get in the way again. I leaned up and met his lips with mine.

It was as if a flock of butterflies erupted within my stomach and went into a frenzy. His lips were soft. They felt nice against my own.

We broke apart after a moment. I could feel my cheeks heating up fast. Seto's eyes were focused on me. I couldn't hold his gaze so I looked away. He was quick to react, he gently grabbed my chin again and forced me to look at him.

"Mister Kaiba, Sir?"

Seto let out a low growl before releasing my chin and turning to face whoever called him name.

"What is it?"

I peeked around Seto and saw the guy who had been driving Seto's limo the first day I worked at KaibaCorp. I never got his name.

"Some of the investors would like you to give a speech, Sir," the man said cautiously.

"I'll be there in a minute," Seto said lowly.

The man nodded before walking back inside.

I stood up and took Seto's jacket off my shoulders and held it out to him as he stood up. He took his jacket and gripped my chin. He brought his face closer to mine. My heart began pounding.

"We'll continue this later," Seto murmured before letting go of me and pulling on his jacket. "But for now, follow me."

He began walking towards the doors leading inside. I let out a slow breath to calm myself down and followed him.


	9. Chapter 9

"Uhh, Seto?" I called as I trotted after the man who had just kissed me.

"What?

"Was there a reason you didn't tell me about tonight or the VR System? I would have been more than happy to help."

Seto stopped just under the alcove where Duke and I had argued, and turned to face me.

"I had everything under control before you started. And it wasn't necessary to drag you into production and beta testing when we were just about finished," Seto explained.

"Oh, okay. Fair enough, I suppose," I drifted off.

"Now, I want you to wait here." He then moved his head towards me. I felt his breath on my neck as he whispered, "That outfit suits you."

He straightened up and headed towards the stairs, leaving me frozen to the spot and quite flustered. I frantically grabbed my cheeks in an attempt to hide them. I watched Seto walk out onto the stage to give his speech. What had made him become so...nice? Did someone break him? He seemed so concerned about me. And that kiss. What was that about? Did he really like me? That was the second time he had kissed me though. If he kept doing that, my feelings for him were going to skyrocket. Which would be a bad thing if I intended on going back to Australia.

"Callie!"

I jumped slightly at the sound of my name and saw Joey jogging towards me. I smiled slightly and gave a slight wave. "Hey."

"Are you okay? Duke said you had a fight?" he asked.

"Just a misunderstanding. I know what I'm going to do when he leaves though," I sighed.

"Come back over here, we're waiting to have a go."

I bit my lip. Seto had asked me to stay. Would the beta testing be classed at work now that I had seen Seto? I wasn't going to risk it.

"Sorry, Joey, Seto told me to stay here. I'm not sure if I'm working now or not."

"He's gotta take you away, don't he?" Joey muttered to himself. "Okay, Cal. Come find us when you can."

He ran back into the crowd. I guessed they were lined up over the other side. I thought about quickly ducking over to apologise to Duke but a loud applause brought me back to my senses. Seto must have finished his speech.

My thoughts were confirmed as I watched Seto walk down off the stage, towards me.

"That was quick," I commented.

"I'm not much of a speech giver," Seto said coldly. "You never gave me a proper answer earlier. Were you on a double date with Wheeler?"

I frowned. He wasn't going to let it go. I sighed irritably and folded my arms. "No, Mister Kaiba. It was not a double date," I said flatly.

"Good."

Seto must have been satisfied because he told me I could go, but not before telling me to be at work the next day at 1pm.

When I joined the others, Duke refused to speak to me. The only thing he said to me was 'we'll talk when we get home'. He barely looked my way. I felt Hannah looking at me every now and again, but when I focused on her, she averted her gaze. She looked sad. I hoped I wasn't the reason.

"You and Duke must have had quite a fight," Tea whispered to me while Yugi and Joey were hooked up to two separate dive systems.

"What makes you say that?" I asked quietly as I glanced around the hall. I spotted Seto talking to a couple of men who looked a little too business-like to be duelists. What really caught my attention was the person standing beside Seto. The girl from the cafe. The supposed Chrome Industries rep. Seeing her close to Seto made my heart jump to my throat. I didn't like it.

Of course she would be there, Seto did say she was part of the development team. He said they weren't together, but it was incredibly hard to think otherwise.

"When he came back after you both stormed off he looked upset, like he was about to cry. I've never seen him like that," Tea's soft voice said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I focused my attention back to her. Duke nearly cried? Didn't I feel like a bitch? "It was over something stupid, don't worry about it."

Tea nodded while eyeing me worriedly. I looked around and spotted Joey pulling off his headgear. I walked over to where he was and greeted him.

"So how was it?" I asked as he swung his legs over the edge of the massage bed.

"It was actually pretty cool, for something Kaiba developed," Joey replied, sounding surprised. He stood up and stretched. "I wonder how much he's gunna sell this for. Probably more than I could ever afford."

I sighed and gave him a weak smile. "I suppose you could always wait until the price comes down?" I offered.

Joey returned my smile and slung his arm over my shoulder. "You work for him, maybe you could get us one."

"He might be nice and give you a discount if I ask him, I suppose," I said slowly, as I focused on Seto again.

His eyes met mine and a spark went through my body. I quickly looked away. He was still with that girl.

Joey stayed close to me for the rest of the night, and I noticed Seto always looking my way. That girl was always right beside him. I tried to not think about it so much. I didn't want to dwell on his kiss and the possibility of him liking me. It was just a pipedream.

~

Once Duke dropped everyone off, we arrived back at the shop and headed upstairs. I was dreading what was about to happen. Would he just kick me out and put me on the next flight home?

"Hannah, do you wanna give us a minute?" Duke said quietly as he threw his mask onto the counter.

Hannah, who was standing behind me by the stairs, quietly slipped past me, but not before giving me a weak, sad smile. She left the living area rather quickly, leaving me to face Duke.

At first, he didn't say anything so I took the opportunity to seek refuge on the lounge. I ripped off my shoes and massaged my foot. My feet were killing me.

"I'm sorry, Callie."

I looked up at Duke, who had braced himself on the other side of the counter with his head down. His voice was so soft, I wasn't sure if he had spoken at all.

"Uh, why?" I asked him stupidly. There was no need for him to apologise. I was the one who had freaked out. He was allowed to live his life, I was only a small part of it.

"Because I didn't tell you I was leaving," he sighed as he looked up at me. He looked tired. He pushed himself off the counter and made his way over to the chair opposite me, where he dropped into it roughly.

"Can I ask why you didn't?" I questioned cautiously. I wasn't trying to make him feel worse. I just wanted to understand.

Duke pulled his hairband out and let his hair fall before running his fingers through it. "I was just so happy you were here. You seemed to like being here and I didn't want to ruin it. When you first told me you were coming, I totally forgot about my plans. I was just so happy. I hadn't seen you in years."

I nodded, taking in his explanation. "So, do I go back to Australia? I'll ask Kaden to organise it all. I'll give Seto my resignation-"

"Actually, there's something I wanna run by you," Duke butted in. "You've just enrolled here and you've only got a few months left of school, you've got a job, and I don't want you to give up this stuff. I want you to look after the shop while I'm gone."

I blinked a couple of times. Duke wanted me to look after his pride and joy? Could I run a shop as successful as The Dark Clown?

"Why would you want me to do that?"

"You need somewhere to live, don't you? And I don't want to sell it. Well, not just yet anyway. I can organise paperwork and you'll have co-ownership. Even if you don't want to actually run the joint, you'll still have the security," Duke explained. Sounded like he'd thought about it.

"What does Hannah think of this?"

"She doesn't mind."

I looked at Duke suspiciously. Did Hannah really not care that I was going to be co-owner? If it were me, I probably would have been beyond jealous that my boyfriend wanted to give half his store to his friend over me. But I was the jealous type.

Looking around the living area in an attempt to come up with more questions to ask regarding Duke's crazy idea, I realised I was out. I hung my head before looking up at him.

"If you trust me enough, then go for it, Duke. You're gunna have to give me rundown of everything first."

 

The next afternoon before I headed to KaibaCorp, Duke had told me he would get everything ready for us to do what needed to be done. Truth be told, I was a little nervous. How was I going to juggle working for Seto and running Duke's shop? It was a lot to take in. Was it wise to explain the situation to Seto? What about school? Sure, Duke was always at school while he ran the shop, but Seto came and went as he pleased. Would I need to give up my job? My heart jumped at the thought. I wouldn't be able to see Seto as often. He was quite pleasing to my eyes. Not to mention the fact every time I thought of him, the kiss from the night before zipped into mind with no intention of moving.

I still wasn't sure what my feelings for Seto actually consisted of, but I knew there was some form of attraction. What was I supposed to do? I knew that if I just ignored it and didn't ask about the kiss we shared, it would eat away at me and I would never know if my feelings were going to be returned.

As I walked down the street, away from Duke's shop, my thoughts began to drag me away from reality.

"Get in," I heard a voice call from beside me.

I stopped abruptly and looked towards the voice. A black limo was parked beside me, the back door open. I bent over to look in the back. Seto was sitting across from the door.

"Hurry up."

Leaping into the back of the limo, I hastily closed the door before the limo sped off, making me fall back into the seat, rather close to Seto.

"Thank you for the lift," I said quietly.

I snuck a peek at Seto out the corner of my eye. He was sitting with his leg crossed, and his arms folded. He looked to be deep in thought.

 _Should I ask him about it now?_  I didn't know if it was a good idea. He seemed a bit preoccupied. His eyes were kind of hooded, his face wasn't as hard as it normally was.

"Uh, Seto?"

Seto turned his gaze and focused on me, his expression changed to one of annoyance. "What is it?"

"Can we talk about last night?"

"It shouldn't have happened."

His sudden response stumped me. He regretted it?

"Both incidents were an accident and they won't happen again. Now drop it."

My heart dropped. My mouth opened and closed a few time before I slumped back into the seat. Seto looked away from me and resumed his thoughts. I knew it. I had gotten too attached. I had clung to that man and cried. It was stupid of me to have thought he cared about me in the slightest. He knew some of my problems. He had seen my scars. And I couldn't take that back.

_At least he's not broken anymore..._

"Um, am I able to ask you about something else?"

"What?"

Seto did not meet my gaze. I swallowed nervously.

"What's it's like being the owner of a business?"

"Is there a particular reason you're asking? Or are you just being nosy?" Seto shot at me.

_Me? Nosy? That's the pot calling the kettle black, Kaiba._

I frowned. If he wanted to be an ass about it, I was gunna be one back.

"No, actually. I've been offered a co-ownership and am thinking about leaving this job to take it," I said stiffly as I straightened out my skirt.

I stopped once I felt cold eyes boring into my skull. My blood ran cold. My mind was racing and I didn't know whether to look up or keep my eyes on my lap. I chose the latter.

"Who offered it to you?" Seto asked, his voice slightly raised.

I gripped my skirt tightly as I felt the limo pull to a stop. I sighed in relief. Looking out the window, I saw we were out the front of KaibaCorp. I quickly opened the door and shuffled out. Thinking I was off the hook and I wouldn't have to answer Seto, I began walking towards the entrance, only to be held back by a firm grip around my wrist.

"We're not finished."

Seto let go of my wrist as he appeared beside me and lead the way into the building. It was very quiet for a normally busy Sunday. KaibaCorp was always busy. The woman at the front desk, who I came to know as Tilly, wasn't there. Apart from the odd worker here and there, the lobby was deserted.

Seto led me to the elevator and let me in first. As soon as the door closed behind him, he stepped towards me. I matched his movement by stepping back, which was pretty pointless because I ended up against the wall.

"Who offered it to you, Callie?"

"Why does it matter?" I asked quietly, meeting his cold, sapphire eyes.

"Just tell me."

I sucked in and mentally prepared for backlash. "No."

Seto's eyes flashed, but he didn't move. Maybe I pissed him off too much. Even though I was scared of what he would do next, all I wanted was for him to pin me against the wall and kiss me. It was driving me insane. Maybe I didn't like him. Maybe it was just lust.

Seto didn't do anything. He just looked away from me. Once we entered his office, he pointed to my desk and told me to sit, which I did, while he made his way to his own.

As soon as I planted my bum on the seat, my phone vibrated in my bra. I quickly pulled it out and looked at my lock screen. It was an image from Joey. For some reason, I had the morbid thought of him sending me a dick pic. I scrunched up my face and roughly shook my head. "Don't be a perv, Callie," I muttered to myself as I opened the message.

I nearly dropped my phone.

Joey had sent me a photo of a newspaper with a picture of what looked like Seto and myself sitting on a brick wall, kissing.

 _You're on the front page_  was all Joey had said.

"Oh fuck," I swore as I tossed my phone onto my desk. I looked up at Seto, who had his eyes firmly fixed on his computer screen. I wondered if he'd seen the paper. I assumed the picture had been from the latest paper. The only time Seto had kissed me outside was the night before. "This is getting stupid."

I picked up my phone and went to type a response to Joey, but I couldn't think of one. What was I meant to say? I thought back to his over-reaction to the papers story on Seto and myself being in a relationship. He had flipped. That picture pretty much confirmed everything, in the paper's, and everyone else's eyes.

 _We're not together._ That was all I could come up with.

"Take the offer," Seto's voice rung out in the quiet office.

I looked towards him with a confused look. Had I pissed him off that much?

"It's better that way. I don't need made up stories of us being plastered everywhere. Besides, you're hopeless at being a PA."

He shot me down. I wasn't any good? I wished he had told me that before. I would have worked on it. I sighed. "Yes, Sir. Is there anything you'd like me to do for now?"

"No. Just go."

I walked out of KaibaCorp in a daze. It hurt that Seto thought I was hopeless. Maybe I should have applied myself more. He had been so keen on helping me with my extra curricular stuff and everything. I wondered what had changed. Were the papers becoming too much for his reputation? Maybe it had something to do with that rep Seto had been with.

I looked at my phone in the hope of someone texting me to get my mind of Seto. There was a text from Joey.

_Okay._

I frowned. He didn't believe that Seto and I weren't a couple. I clicked his number and held the phone up to my ear.

"Hi, Callie," Joey said glumly as he answered.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, slightly worried.

"Nothin' major. What are you up to? I thought you'd be with Kaiba?"

"He told me to leave. I'm chilling out the front of KaibaCorp. Wanna hang out?"

Joey didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Yeah. I'll meet you there. Give me a few."

~

Footsteps quickly approaching me made my head snap to the right of me, where I saw Joey jogging my way. I stood up from my spot on the front steps and waved to him.

"I didn't drag you away from anything, did I?" I asked as Joey stopped in front of me.

"Nah. You're right, Cal," Joey panted as he placed his hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath. "So, why'd Kaiba tell you to leave? Don't you work with him for a few hours?"

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "Yeah, he doesn't think I should work for him anymore.. I've been offered a co-ownership."

"Seriously? Where?"

"Duke's shop."

Joey stared at me in shock. "So you two sorted everything out? Are you right with him leaving now?"

"Well I have to be, don't I? I can't expect him to put his life on hold just because I'm here. It's part of the reason he's offered it to me. He doesn't want me to go back home just because he's leaving. He's going to sort everything out so I don't need to worry."

"Well, I'm glad you're not leaving," Joey sighed happily as he slung his arm over my shoulder. "Someone's gotta take Duke's place."

There was no way I'd be able to take Duke's place within the group, but it was nice that Joey thought I could.

"So is there anywhere in particular you wanted to hang?" Joey asked me as we began to walk down the street.

I didn't know where I wanted to go. I hadn't thought that far ahead. "I dunno. You know your way around; where do you think we should go?"

Joey looked to the ground as we continued walking, as if deep in thought. As he did, I gazed at him and took in his appearance. He was in dark jeans with a white t-shirt. He had a blue cargo jacket over the top. His hair was still as shaggy as ever, like he's never heard of a brush.

"I know where to go."


	10. Chapter 10

"Hannah, be honest with me. Are you okay with all this?"

Hannah glanced up at me from her frappe before averting her eyes again.

We were sitting in the cafe across from KaibaCorp, waiting for Duke to arrive with whatever papers he wanted me to sign. He had suggested Hannah and I should try to bond before they left the next day.

"Honestly," Hannah began while playing with her cup. "I don't know how I feel. I know it's stupid, I mean, I don't know." She was struggling to find words. "I know you two are best friends, but I'm a little bit worried something more will come of it."

I stared at her. She was worried? I would have been too, but there was no way there would be anything more than friendship between me and Duke.

"You really have nothing to worry about," I reassured her, earning me a quick glance.

"The fact he does so much for you is scary."

Bowing my head, I had to agree with her. Giving me co-ownership was a pretty big deal. I wondered if Duke had a proper talk with Hannah before offering it to me, or he just mentioned it in passing conversation. It made me feel horrible. Not to mention the fact the whole idea of being co-owner to Duke's shop was scaring the living daylights out of me.

"Look, I know I shouldn't complain. You were in his life well before I was, but I'm scared... he may have feelings for you... hidden somewhere deep down."

I choked on the bit of coke I had attempted to swallow. "Seriously?" I struggled to say. "Duke doesn't have feelings for me, Hannah. You have to believe that. I've watched the way he looks at you. There's not a thing he wouldn't do for you. You think he does a lot for me? That fight we had last night? He told me he wasn't going to put his life on hold for me. And, after a little bit, I realised I wouldn't want him to," I explained softly. I wasn't trying to make her feel bad. I wanted her to see Duke truly loved her and no romantic feelings for me existed anywhere in that head and heart of his.

Hannah held my gaze for a few moments, then closed her eyes and nodded.

"Besides," I added with a laugh. "Duke would be over in America with you. I don't think I could do the whole long distance thing. And there's no way I'd actively play a part in cheating."

Hannah gave me a lopsided smile. "I guess you're right. Duke did say something about you being on a date earlier. Was it with Joey?"

Duke knew about Joey and I hanging out earlier that day? He called it a date? I never thought of it as a date.

I could feel my cheeks burning up, thinking about my and Joey's 'date'. "Yeah, but it wasn't a date. We were just hanging out, he had to leave before we did anything anyway," I said, casually.

"Uhuh, so nothing happened between you two?"

Something did happen. But I wasn't sure I wanted to talk about it, I didn't know how I felt about it.

*Flashback*

Joey grinned at me as we stood out the front of his choice for our hang out place. I took it in and let out a deep sigh.

"What? You don't like bowling?"

It wasn't that. I loved bowling. I was rather good. I was just worried I was going to kick his ass.

I shook my head and held my hand out, prompting him to lead the way. He startled me by grabbing said hand and dragging me through the entrance.

It was rather busy inside. Numerous teams were already well into their games, while a few groups wers still waiting to be served.

"Damn," Joey muttered. "I didn't think it would be this busy. We better get a lane."

"It doesn't matter if we don't, Joey," I said reassuringly, after realising he still had a firm grip on my hand. His hand was quite soft, but it still felt weird for him to be holding mine. I wasn't sure how to handle the situation. Did I pull my hand away, or squeeze his to make him realise he still had a hold, if he had forgotten. But, maybe he hadn't forgotten at all.

In the end, I just left my hand in his. My mind wandered back to Seto and the way he had pretty much fired me. On the outside, I was quite calm about it, but internally, I was freaking out. I realised I didn't want to leave my job with Seto. I could have made owning Duke's shop and working for Seto work somehow. I'd slip school and socialising in there somewhere as well.

I supposed it was a good thing, maybe the news papers would let up about Seto and I 'being together'. He didn't need that kind of stuff going around if it wasn't true and I just wanted to fade into the background. I'd had enough attention to last me a life time, and I'd only been in Domino for a few weeks.

"Next please," a voice said in front of us. It was the cashier. Joey walked up first but before he could do anything, his phone rang. He apologised to the attendant and walked outside. I followed him. He stood near the footpath, out of the way of people making their way in and out of the alley. I stood nearby, but kept a good few feet away so I wasn't eavesdropping.

Joey said a few words before rolling his eyes and shoving his phone back in his pocket.

"I'm sorry, Callie. I gotta go. My dad wants me to do some things for him," Joey said with a hint of annoyance in his voice and he walked up to me.

I shook my head. "It's okay. You go do what you gotta do, and we can catch up later," I said as I rubbed his arm. Joey looked at my hand, then at me for a moment.

What he did next, sent shockwaves through me. Before I knew it, I felt a pair of soft lips brush against mine in a swift kiss. I blinked a few times as Joey quickly pulled away from me.

"I'll catch you later!" Joey called as he began jogging down the street, leaving me to melt in a puddle of confusion.

~End flashback~

I kept my eyes on my Coke to avoid Hannah's wide eyes.

"He kissed you?!"

"It was more of a peck, really. I don't know what to make of it. I might just ignore it; I have enough to deal with. With Duke leaving with you and taking over his shop, I can't have two boys kissing me floating around my head as well."

"Two? Who else has kissed you?"

Oh, shit. I glanced up at Hannah quickly, only to see her leaning in rather close, desperate to hear more.

"I'd rather not say..."

"Rather not say what?" I heard from behind me.

I spun around on the seat to see Duke walk past me and take a seat next to Hannah. He placed a manila folder in front of him.

"Callie was just telling me how two guys have kissed her since she's been here," Hannah commented with a slight smile.

I shrunk back into the booth, desperate to hide. I knew I was about to be interrogated. I watched Duke's face contort into a frown.

"Who the hell kissed you, Callie?" he demanded.

"Wow, way to make it sound like it's a crime against nature to kiss me, Devlin," I retorted snidely. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, do you have what I need to sign?"

Duke narrowed his eyes at me but didn't move. I knew what he was thinking. Joey and Seto were floating around in his head. He wasn't stupid. I just hoped he wouldn't voice his thoughts. I really didn't want to confirm it, and I didn't want to lie to him, either. Maybe he wouldn't see the paper and the picture of Seto shoving his tongue down my throat.

After a moment, he sighed and pushed the manila folder towards me. "Everything's there. I do want you to read through it though, Cal."

I looked at Duke through my eye lashes as I opened the folder. "Seriously?" He loved making me suffer. I placed the pile of papers in front of me and rested my head on my hand in a bored manner.

"Don't get pissy. I was told I should make you read it so you know what's to happen if we have a falling out or you sell it from under me. I doubt that would happen though," Duke explained.

I glanced at Hannah; she was being rather quiet. Her eyes were on the contract in front of me. She seemed zoned out. Was the situation still getting to her? The thought of her paranoia was getting to me. What if it got too much and Duke's relationship with her fell apart? It would be because of me essentially.

The sound of a phone going off dragged me out of my thoughts. I looked towards Hannah who was hastily rummaging through her handbag. She pulled out her phone and examined it before turning to Duke.

"Sorry, can I get out?"

Duke nodded as Hannah answered the phone and he slid out of the booth. Hannah slipped out of the booth and jogged outside before Duke sat back down. It was my time to strike.

"What did Hannah-"

"Really, Callie? Kaiba? Of all people?"

Duke struck before I did. I sat there with wide eyes. I knew what he was talking about. Damn it.

"Uhhh-"

"Are you seeing him?"

"No-"

"Didn't you go on a date with Joey?"

"It wasn't a -"

"You can do so much better-"

"Duke!"

Duke stopped and looked at me. He sighed and flicked his bangs away from his face with his fingers.

"I'm not seeing Seto and it wasn't a date," I stated flatly. "I know the papers seem to have taken that photo and ran with it, but, it was only a kiss. Nothing more."

"But why did you even-"

"Devlin," I warned. "Drop it."

Duke sighed in defeat as he slumped back into the seat. "I'm sorry, Cal. Truth be told I'm worried about leaving you here. You barely know anyone and Kaden will hunt me down if anything happens to you."

I looked down at the papers in front of me before beginning to initial and sign. I wasn't going to bother reading through it. I trusted Duke. "You know, I'm a big girl Duke; I can look after myself," I sighed without looking up at him.

"That's funny," Duke muttered, causing me to look up at him. "You ripped into me last night for leaving you because he's here. Sounded like you were scared. Not to mention you've been living with Kaden for the past 3 months because you couldn't be left alone."

What the hell? I bit my lip, nodding as I flipped to the end of the contract and signed my name. I roughly shoved the papers in front of Duke and stood up.

"Cal-"

"I'll see you later," I whispered without looking at him as I placed some money on the table to pay for my half eaten food and drink.

"Callie, please-"

"Leave me alone, Devlin."

I quickly walked out of the cafe before I ended up hitting him. That was the second time he had used 'him' against me. I knew I had thrown the situation at Duke as well, but I was already upset by that point. I bumped into Hannah as I walked out but didn't stop. I apologised and made my way down the street. I had no idea where I was going and at that point I didn't really care.

I was being dramatic. I owned that. And Duke was right; I was terrified of being in Domino without him. I just didn't want to admit it to him. I just hoped I wasn't going to regret it.

While wandering in around, lost in my own thoughts, I seemed to have gotten lost. There weren't many people around and it was getting dark. I looked around wildly in the hopes of finding something I recognised.

Well, I found something. I knew where I was. And I wished I didn't. The sign hanging above a door ten feet ahead glared at me. I spun around but came face to face with the dark mouth of an alley. The alley. My breath quickened. My whole body shook. I could feel his hands on me. Groping. Rubbing. The stench of alcohol on his breath. The feel of it on my neck. I gripped my head roughly. I ran. It became really dark. I looked up and found myself in the alley. I backed up against the wall. His phantom hands pinning me there. Hot tears ran down my face. I cried out weakly and roughly shook my head. I needed them to stop. I needed to get away. But I couldn't run. My feet were glued to the spot. I held my head in my hands and sunk to the floor. As I pulled my knees up to my chin, his voice echoed in my head. "You're mine." He still had a hold of me.

~~

"Callie?"

Someone knelt down in front of me. They gently touched my arm and I flipped. I cried out and tried to push myself further against the wall. My eyes were clamped shut as I hugged my knees tighter.

Hands grabbed my upper arms and I was pulled against something firm and warm. "What happened to you, Cal?"

I knew that voice. I knew the person it belonged to wouldn't hurt me, but I needed to get away. I thrust my hands into their chest and pushed them away with all the strength I could muster, which wasn't much. They grunted slightly and let go of me. Before I could move, they were close to me again.

"Callie, look at me," they ordered sternly.

My eyes shot open. As I looked in to worried chocolate brown eyes, the scent of the cologne Joey had been wearing a few days beforehand wafted around me. Feeling myself become less tense, I closed my eyes again and breathed deeply. It was only Joey.

Joey moved and I looked towards him to find him on his feet, his hand extented out to me. I stared for a few seconds before gingerly placing my hand in his. Joey's fingers closed around my hand and he pulled me to my feet.

"Let's go."

As Joey lead me out of the ally and into the sunlight, I realised something. He had just witnessed one of my breakdowns. A guy I barely knew had seen me at one of my weakest moments. I wasn't sure how to handle it. I also wasn't quite sure how he had found me.

Joey stopped at a bench near the cafe I had ditched Duke and Hannah at, which also happened to be across the road from KaibaCorp. Joey sat down on the bench, pulling me down beside him. I avoided making eye contact.

"Callie? You don't have to talk to me about it if you don't want to, but-"

My arms wrapped themselves around Joey's middle tightly while my face buried deep into his chest. I didn't really know why I had latched onto him. Maybe for some form of comfort? Joey tensed up and I realised what I was doing. I began to pull myself away from him, preparing to apologise for being weird, but Joey pulled me against him; one hand on the back of my head and the other pressed firmly against my back. I breathed in his scent.

"Joey?" I murmured.

"Hmm?"

"Please don't tell anyone what you saw, especially Duke. He doesn't need to know."

Joey didn't respond for a moment. "Okay, Callie."

I slowly released Joey from my hold and ran my hand through my hair as Joey's hands fell away from me. "I'm sorry you had to endure that.." I muttered, slightly ashamed. He was judging me.

"Endure what? I'm glad I found you. I don't wanna think about how long you could have been there by yourself if Duke hadn't rung me-"

"Duke called you?"

So Joey being there wasn't a coincidence. I had a fair idea why Duke didn't search for me himself, but I wondered why he picked Joey. Tea would have been a more...logical choice.

"Well, yeah. I think he called everyone so we could cover more ground. Was a good thing," Joey smiled as he reachede in to his pocket. "Hang on, I'll let Duke know."

I had half a mind to tell Joey to not worry about it, but then he'd question why, and I didn't want to go in to detail about why I was kind of pissed at Duke.

"Hey, I found her. Meet you there." Joey put his phone back in his pocket and stood up. "C'mon. We're meeting Duke back at the cafe."

I sighed and stood up before heading back towards the cafe, slowly trailing behind Joey.


	11. Chapter 11

Letting all the pages fall back in place, I slammed the pen down and sighed. "There. Done."

Duke smiled and began to flick through the pages. After I accepted Duke's apology at the cafe, just to keep things civil, we all parted ways. He knew I was still salty with him, but he didn't bring it up. Once we got back to his place, Hannah went to bed while Duke and I went through the co-ownership papers.

"You know, Duke,'' I began, leaning back against the bench so I was facing the lounge room. Duke was still standing beside the island, lazily flicking through the paperwork. "This is an incredibly generous thing to do. I mean. We haven't seen each other in a few years, and once this kicks in, you're not even going to be here. This is quite a big deal."

Duke let the papers fall back on top of each other before pulling out the hair band that was holding his hair up. He turned and made his way over to the two seater and flopped in to it. "I know, Cal. But, I trust you. I need to know that shop is in good hands. Plus, if you stay, I know you'll have a roof over your head."

"Well, I don't really have a choice now, do I?" I asked dryly. I toddled over to the recliner and sat down. "You know Kaiba pretty much fired me?"

Duke frowned. "Why? He seems pretty keen on you."

The image of the paper flashed through my mind. I glared at Duke. "I asked him about running his own business. And I told him about the shop. Then it went downhill. He said he didn't need stories involving me popping up and that I'm a sucky PA. He told me to leave after that." I sighed and slumped back in to the lounge. "I liked that job. The easiest job in the world."

"Sure that's the only reason?" Duke piped up. I looked at him out the corner of my eye. He had a strange look on his face.

"Yes," I said shortly. "Why?"

It took Duke a while to answer me. He sat forward and ran both hands through his hair. "I don't want you to get hurt. You know that."

I just looked at him. I still wasn't sure if my answer was entirely truthful. Thinking about the fact I wouldn't see Seto the next morning kind of made me feel crappy.

"I'm sorry about before," Duke murmured. I frowned before realising what he was talking about. "That's the second time I've used it against you and you've only been here two weeks. I told Kaden I'd look after you and keep your mind off things, not throw it in your face. Amelia probably wants to kick my ass."

I snorted before covering my face in shame. I gazed at Duke. "Mum would probably want to kick your ass for not telling us you had a girlfriend," I smiled, despite the tears welling up in my eyes.

Duke gave me a small smile. "That wouldn't surprise me."

I smiled at Duke. He was showing some form of emotion towards mum for the first time since I had arrived. She was like a second mum to Duke and mum loved him just as much. I knew it was time to talk to him about what happened.

"Duke, I think I'm ready..."

Duke's smile faded and was replaced by a serious look. "Are you sure? You don't have to?"

"The first thing you should know is Kaden's my riding instructor. Well, he was at first, but he's become a very good friend to me, and to mum. Um..."

*Flashback*

I had just passed my Provisional license test and was eager to drive out to my riding lesson. Mum had been quite reluctant to let me drive her car by myself; it was only a few months old.

My eagerness had been shot down however when mum came down the stairs and told me she had to take the car and to cancel my lesson. We had a big argument and I had convinced her to take me out before she went to do what she had to.

"You owe me for this, Callie," mum said irritably as she turned onto the highway that would take us out of town.

She was a very beautiful woman with shoulder length dark brown hair and big brown eyes. Her body was perfectly proportionate. She was only 22 when she adopted me. I had always wondered why she never had a long term boyfriend. In the end, I asked her. Her response made me want to hit every guy she had ever seen: "They didn't like the fact I couldn't have kids of my own and that I had adopted you. And they're all jerks."

"It's only just outside of town," I snapped.

"I have to go to the other side of town. You're making me late. Why couldn't you just ask Kaden to move it to tomorrow?"

"He's going away for a few days, mum," I told her. "I won't be able to see him for his birthday. What's so important, anyway?"

Mum's speed increased as she made the bend. She wasn't going over the limit, but I could tell she was annoyed; the way she changed gears said it all. That was mum's way of venting, to go for a drive somewhere. She had been on edge for a number of days and she disappeared for hours at a time. Something big must have been on her mind. I wanted to ask, but I knew I would have my head ripped off.

"I'm meeting the owner of Chrome Industries," mum said quietly as Kaden's place came into view.

"Why?"

I never got an answer. Mum swore loudly as she slammed on the brakes and swerved. I caught a glimpse of a white sedan heading towards us before slamming into the front right hand side of the car, mum's side. I could hear the crunching metal, the screeching wheels, mum's horrified screams. The car spun, as if in slow motion then jolted to a stop with a loud crash. Then there was silence.

I laid there in a daze, my nose throbbing, trying to figure out what had happen. The air bag in front of me was slowly deflating which allowed me to view my surroundings. The whole front end was crushed in by a large telegraph pole. Mum's brand new car was totalled. The windscreen has been shattered, but it still remained attached to the car. I felt something wet running down my cheek. I reached up and felt my face, causing my arm to scream in agony. I winced as I drew my fingers back. They were covered in blood. I whimpered and looked down at my lap. There was glass covering me so I looked to the passenger window, groaning in the process. It was still in place, although there were some major cracks in it. Maybe it came from mum's window.

Mum!

I looked towards the driver's seat. "MUM!"

I tried desperately to sit myself up properly as I stared at my mum in horror, but pain erupted all over my body. I looked down and saw my legs were pinned by the dash board. My arms were aching and my back was screaming in agony. Looking at mum again, I began calling for her.

The driver side door had been pushed in and was pushing against her side. Her body was bent out of shape. Blood was pouring out of a thick, nasty gash along her forehead. The steering wheel had pinned her to the seat. It was crushing her stomach. She wasn't responding to my pleas. There was a thin line of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

I began calling for help. It hurt deep in my chest every time I made a noise, but I didn't care. I had to get mum help. I grabbed her lifeless hand and squeezed it tightly. "It's okay, mum. Everything will be okay. Someone will come." I kept repeating similar things to my mother's unconscious body while calling for someone, anyone, to help us.

"Amelia! Callie!"

My ears perked up at the sound of the familiar voice calling out to us. I called out in response. "Kaden! Help!"

A moment later, Kaden appeared at mum's door. He was a tall man of 25 with short black hair and dark eyes. He was wearing a black trench coat with a brown top and black pants. I was so glad to see him. He saw mum and tried desperately to pull the door open, but it was no use.

"Can you get out?" Kaden asked me, but then realised my legs had been pinned. "Hang on, I'll call for help. Try and wake your mother up." He pulled out his phone dialed some numbers and held it to his ear. He was shaking.

I did as I was told and tried to wake mum. I lifted an aching arm and shook her gently. It was all I could accomplish; I had no strength. "Mum, please wake up," I pleaded as tears burnt my eyes. Please mum, don't leave me.

The tears fell from my eyes and I couldn't stop them. My legs were starting to feel numb, the pain in my back was becoming worse, my arms felt heavy. I stopped shaking mum as Kaden appeared at mum's window again. He told me help would be there soon and then proceeded to try and wake mum. I didn't think he knew what else to do. What could he do? There was no way to get either of us out.

I suddenly remembered the car that had hit us. "Kaden, is there another car?"

He looked at me in confusion before a look of realisation crossed his face. He looked to the side. "Yeah, there's a car across the road, but the driver must have done a runner. The driver door is open. Here come the ambos."

"What if they're hurt too? They need to find them," I panicked.

"Don't worry about them, Callie," Kaden urged. "Can you wiggle your toes?"

I cringe as the muscles in my legs tense up, but I managed to move my toes. "I can move them," I sighed as I heard hurried voices around us.

I didn't know how long I sat in that car, staring at mum while paramedics, the rescue crew and Kaden worked desperately to get both of us out. They had to use the Jaws of Life to pry open mum's door and even then, they faced the problem of how to get her out. They managed to unpin my legs and get me out. They chucked me on a gurney and put me in an ambulance. I begged them to get mum out of the car and kept asking them if she was going to be okay. They told me I needed to stay still but I lifted my head to see what was going on. The last thing I saw before they closed the ambulance doors was the paramedics placing mum's limp body on a gurney.

After I was admitted into hospital, I became a very difficult patient. I wouldn't stop demanding that they tell me how mum was. I refused to do any tests, I wouldn't let them touch me without a fight. In the end they had to sedate me, so when I awoke, I was rather drowsy. It took a moment for me to realise where I was and what had happened. My body was aching slightly, but I was able to sit up. Ripping the IV out of my hand, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and hoisted myself up, only to fall in a heap on the floor. My legs were so weak, the muscles in my legs were having spasms. A nurse ran in a few seconds later and helped me back up. I placed my hand on the bed for support while the nurse had me around the waist. She went to assist me back into bed, but I told her I wanted to know if mum was alright and if I could see her.

The nurse gave me a solemn look. "Your mother's in a critical condition, Caledonia. I can take you to see her, but she might not be awake. You should have waited to get out of bed."

"Let's go," I ordered as I took my hand off the bed. I pulled her arm away from me in an attempt to stand by myself. It worked, but my knees still felt like they could give out at any moment.

I followed the nurse out the door of my room and down the corridor. It was a very slow walk, and she didn't even put the IV back in my hand so I didn't have the stand to support myself as I walked, but the nurse kept an eye on me. All I could think about the whole time was mum.

The nurse stopped in front of a closed door and looked back at me before slowly opening it. "I must warn you," she said quietly, "this may shock you."

"Just let me see my mum..."

She nodded and moved out of the way so I could walk in. I didn't even need to step through the door to see what was in there.

Mum lay there with various machines hooked up to her, the heart monitor beeping slowly. She turned her head, and smiled; she was awake. "Callie..."

I hobbled over to her bed as fast as I could without falling over. She looked so pale, a bandage was wrapped tightly around her head. When she had said my name, her voice was so strained. Standing there beside her bed, I felt so pathetic. I couldn't help her. I felt tears stinging my eyes, but I tried to hold them back. I had to be strong.

"Mum..." I whispered as I felt a lone tear roll down my cheek.

Mum moved her hand swiftly and grabbed my own, startling me. She held on to it tightly, her eyes were glassy. "I'm sorry... I didn't get you to... your lesson..." said murmured in a raspy voice. It looked like it hurt her to talk.

"What? Don't be silly, mum. Kaden saved us... he called the ambos..." I reassured her as I placed my other hand over hers. "Don't try to talk... just get some rest. You'll be okay..."

Mum shook her head quickly, and winced. "No, Cal. Listen to me." She swallowed hard. "I'm so glad I got to have you as a daughter, my baby..."

My throat started hurting. Why was she talking like this? More tears fell from my eyes, which were aching. "Why are you being like this, mum?" I said, but it came out like a little squeal.

"It's okay... Don't cry... I love you so much, Cal... Don't ever forget that..." Mum's eyes began to droop. Her heart rate monitor began to slow. I began shaking my head; I knew why she was telling me this. I didn't want to believe it. "Call Duke... I bet he misses you..."

Mum's eyes finally close.

Her grip on my hand loosened.

The loud drone of the heart monitor filled my ears.

She was gone.

I fell to my knees and rested my head on her hand. Sobs racked my body as I cried. I didn't let go of mum's hand. She couldn't die on me. I lifted my head.

"Mum!" I called loudly through my sobs. "Mum!" She didn't respond.

Everything began happening in slow motion. I was lifted to my feet and shoved out of the way as nurses and doctors surrounded mum's bed, trying to revive her. I tried desperately to keep a hold of mum's hand, but to no avail. They were shouting things to each other, fussing over mum. They put a face mask on her as a defibrillator was wheeled up to the bed. They began shocking her. I just stood there in shock, still heaving sobs, transfixed at the sight before me. My hands were shaking.

A familiar, comforting voice said my name behind me, but I didn't acknowledge the person from which whom the voice came. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I jumped about a foot in the air. I spun around in fright, ready to swear at them, but I was met with someone's chest. I looked up into Kaden's dark brown eyes, which were slightly teary. He mouthed 'come here', and I obliged. I dove into his chest and sobbed loudly. He wrapped his arms around me protectively and tightened his hold.

Through my sobs, I could hear someone say, "I'll call it."

*End Flashback*

My eyes were throbbing from holding back the tears. I glanced at Duke, who looked down at his feet. "I should have kept in touch. I could have been there for you." He buried his face in his hands.

I slid off the recliner on to all fours before crawling over to Duke. I stood up on my knees and pulled his hands away from his face. He looked up at me in shock.

"But we're talking now. And you're here. I just wish you could have spoken to mum before..." I trailed off, looking at Duke's feet. More tears formed and I couldn't stop them from falling. A hand cupped my chin and tilted my head up to look in to Duke's own tearful eyes.

I couldn't stop the sob. Duke let go of my chin and pulled me into his arms roughly, holding me tight. I cried in to his chest. Duke somehow managed to hoist me up on to the lounge beside him. I wrapped my arms around his middle and continued to assault his shoulder with my tears. Duke shuddered under me. Was he crying too? I hugged him tighter and let all the tears I had held back for months flow freely.


End file.
